


To Love You

by Shiraia_Writes



Category: Naruto
Genre: Child Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, Fluff and Smut, Hatred, M/M, Panic Attacks, Past Rape/Non-con, Regret, Secret Identity, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:27:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 22
Words: 89,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26178745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiraia_Writes/pseuds/Shiraia_Writes
Summary: Naruto's past has been harder then anyone knows. He has closed himself off to everyone and is as emotionless on the outside as he is bitter on the inside.He gets a new mission, pushing him towards opening his heart whether he wants to or not. Naruto slowly lets himself be broken down by Sasuke as he learns to trust and love again.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Yamanaka Ino, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 13
Kudos: 83





	1. A Mission

**Author's Note:**

> my first fanfic (and attempt at writing) ever, be gentle...

"Kitsune"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." I respond. I've been summoned to the Hokage's office to get a new mission. My two new team members stand tensely behind me. I can practically feel the fear run through them. Every few missions I get some new recruits with me, but they never stick. This will be their first mission with me and I know they do not want to go. Nobody wants to go on a mission with me. My face is unmoved, though. I do not show weaknesses like emotions to anyone. Internally is a different thing, though.

 _My fucking reputation proceeds me,_ _jeej_. **That's** **not that hard, Kit. Ever since your first mission, the Laughing red fox of** **Konoha** **has been a fact.**

"I leave these two in your care, Kitsune. As long as they are in your care, they will be unharmed, do you understand?" The Hokage says in a stern voice.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." I respond again. If I can help it, I never say more then I need to the Hokage.

"Before I give you the mission scroll, please introduce yourself shorty to each other." He has a straight face, but I can see the twinkle in his eyes. _Bastard_ _._

The ANBU to my right flinched, but went on to introduce himself. "Inu, ANBU for 2 weeks, age 19, strong point genjutsu. True name Hayate". He looked his age, well build, brown hair and eyes, slightly bored expression and proud stance, tight black sleeveless shirt and black ANBU pants. His dog mask is white with green. Noticeable black tattoo running from behind his right ear over to his right hand. Seal signs cleverly hidden in the tattoo. He has a backpack for his tools.

Next to my left. "Kuma, ANBU for 3 weeks, age 23, strong point ninjustu. True name Reo". He looks older than his age, slim build, white hair, green eyes, weary expression and sloughed posture, baggy dark blue vest on black ANBU pants and a bored voice. His bear mask is white with orange. No outstanding characteristics further.

Then me. "Kitsune, ANBU duration classified, age classified, strong points classified. True name classified" I look younger than I am due to my height. The stress of overtraining and undernourishment stopped my growth a couple of times. Kurama says I'll catch up soon enough, though, but it's not like I care a lot about it. The way I carry myself makes me come of as a lot older then I am. This contradiction often causes confusion. Unfortunately, I have horrible sunshine yellow hair, shoulder length tucked into a tail. Cold blue eyes in which, if you look close enough, you can still see traces of a once happy child. **Lie.** _Yeah, I know._ My hitai-ate is around my neck. My face is covered in a red with white fox mask. I wear a tight white shirt with a short sleeved light gray coat. White ANBU pants finish the outfit off. I don't like to wear dark colours. It makes me grumpy, like a dark mindset comes over me. A thin sword rests on my back, finely crafted specially for me. On both my legs I have weapon pouches and strategically placed bandages hide what I want to be secret. My body has a feminine touch, which has come in handy in multiple undercover missions. You would be surspised how many men follow a masked girl that speaks with innuendo.

The Hokage lets out a sigh. He tends to do that a lot around me. "Kitsune, not everything about you is classified, please try again." He actually sounds exasperated. _Well, I_ _did_ _something_ _right then._

At that comment the room seems to drop in temperature. _He knows I don't want anybody to know about who I am. Why does he always push me to open up? It's not like they'll last longer than one mission anyway!_ The Hokage is unimpressed but I feel the ANBU behind me step back. I did not move.

 _I do love it so when they tremble, though..._ _O_ _, this mission_ _will_ _be fun._ I reduce my killer intent and answer. "Kitsune, ANBU 7 years, 6 years as captain, age 11, strong points classified. True name classified"

Another sigh from the Hokage. He addressed the ANBU behind me. "That's all you're gonna get. Never let any of that slip your tongue. Kitsune has a tendency to remove the parts that speak to much about him. Furthermore, my command for him to keep you unharmed will be honoured, but only for the duration of your cooperation. Kitsune does not forget and you would do well to remember that. Kitsune, here is the mission scroll. I expect you back in one week. After that I will have a new mission for you alone, Kitsune. Dismissed"

The ANBU walk out of the room as I seem to disappear. Even when people know I'm there, I can hide my presence so well that I can disappear in front of their very eyes without actually leaving. I decide to hear what Inu and Kuma have to say. Odds are, that'll talk about me. "So he's the Laughing red fox. I didn't expect him to be so small. I heard his first mission was an S-ranked mission where he killed nearly 50 jounin." Kuma says.

"You mean his first mission as an ANBU, don't you? He must have been on other, lower missions before that." Inu says.  
"No, I mean his first ever mission. The 2 ANBU with him on that mission were at some point his sensei's, but they started teaching at the academy and training genin after that. He killed everyone, single-handed, in under an hour on that first mission. Nearly 50 jounin! They say that was the last time he laughed, an evil, demonic laugh, but is was enough to earn the nickname Laughing Red Fox of Konoha. After that, the Hokage tried to reel his killing in to a minimum by-"

_Ah yes, to commemorate my first mission... the blood felt so warm, it made me feel happy_ _.._ _._

I let my chakra go so they notice me while Kuma is talking. They freeze up as soon as they realise I'm there. "Heed the Hokage's warning, he's right about me taking parts that reveal to much... Tomorrow, the gates, 7 AM. I do not like to wait." I say in a cold voice.

After that, I shunshin to my apartment. The amount of seals and jutsu's keeping my home private are far beyond even the protection the Hokage gets. Some are my own little brain twists, only known to me. Still, I know I won't sleep. I rarely do. I still don't feel save enough for that. I don't think l ever will. With what I've been through, I have PTST, insomnia, and very internal panic attacks, where I go full rant on a certain poor fox among other things. Nobody knows about this. I don't want anyone to know this. Most they would get to see is me kinda spaced out. The Hokage might suspect something, though.

O yeah, I might have also gained an unquenchable bloodlust along the way somewhere...

 _Oi_ _Kurama, that solo mission after this, what do you think that's about?_ **How would I know more then you?** **I'm stuck in your head! But it must be a special thing for** J **iji** **to have you go solo.** _Big fucking help you are_. **Don't get that way with me, Kit, get some rest.** _I won't sleep, you know that..._

Next best thing to sleep would be to meditate. I won't feel rested, but at least less stressed. It only takes an hour though, so until that time, I start to study a couple of new jutsu scrolls I recently acquired. _Some_ _day I'll let the_ _Hokage_ _know I've read these forbidden scrolls, maybe after I get a mission to find them_ _, k_ _ukukuku_ _._ **Kit, you know he won't stop you, so why the secrecy?** *Shrugs shoulders* _Keeps it interesting..._

Next morning, around 9, I show up, armed to the teeth, but most weapons hidden in seals tattood on accessible points on my body. My two new toys are standing around nervously. I wonder how long they'll last. They are both looking towards Konoha hoping to see me walk up to them, so I appear behind them as I let my chakra go a bit. You can literally see the fear goose bumps rising up their spines. "Do not let me catch you this open again. Let's go." I start moving out. "Hai, Kitsune-sama!" I hear in unison behind me, and they follow me. _Wow, I made them wait 2 fucking whole hours after saying I hated to wait, and nothing. Not even a remark about it._

"The mission is to retrieve information from the Suna no Kuni. There is to be no association with Konoha. That means either a flawless extraction, or a killing spree." _I_ _will_ _do my best to get the second option_. **Kit, that's dark** **.** Kurama sniggers. Him and me have been on the same page when it comes to missions, he's entertained by my thoughts and actions. He was there through everything, started training me on my third birthday after the incident and led me to my revenge. Revenge led to me being recruited into the ANBU at age 4 and my bloodlust. Now I let him in on everything, letting him see all of it through my eyes, hear my every thought.

I push myself into a high speed to see if they can keep up. As soon as I notice them falling away a bit, I subtlely slow my pace. I push them hard and before nightfall we've reached the border to Suna no Kuni. Two thirds of our journey complete. "We're making camp here, rest up, get some food, I'll keep watch tonight. We push on tomorrow at dawn. Do not expect another night's sleep as long as we are in Suna no Kuni." I say without looking at them. They collapse before I finish speaking. The campsite is near a shallow river in a grassy meadow. Close by is a forest. _Idillic_ _like a picture, hopefully I get to stain the river red..._

After a couple of minutes, Inu catches his breath and says "Excuse me, Kitsune-sama, but you would need sleep as well. We should rotate the watch." _Well, that was pretty brave, first thing he says to little old me, and he defies my orders._ "I do not sleep on missions." I state coldly. I'm silent for a moment. "Though I do understand your need for it. That is the only reason for this break: to prevent me from breaking the Hokage's command of not harming you." _Let's see what he does with this much sympathy from me_. The last time I showed this much care, I ended up with a life long loyalty that turned into the third bond I've ever had with anyone. Of course, that person is gone now...

As they rummage around making camp, I sit slightly to the side, eyes closed in meditation. Might as well do that now while they are still up. Inu pulls out food from his backpack, all ready to eat products with which you could also cook. He even wasted the space for a scroll to summon a large cooking pot. Kuma quickly gets a fire going. After a while Inu calls out. "Food's ready, I made stew." They sit down to eat and look to see if I'm coming. I haven't even moved.

Mostly the people decide to ignore me and just eat, but Inu is intent to get me to join them. "Kitsune-sama, please do join, there is enough." I still don't move. It remains silent for a while as they exchange looks. Then I hear cutlery as they start to eat. _There they go..._

To my sursprise, Inu gets up and walks over to me. He places a bowl of stew in front of me. I still don't move. _My god, I give him one fucking slight sign of sympathy and I have him wrapped around my cute finger.._. **You gonna eat, Kit?** _Maybe, I am hungry. They seem to be fine, so I guess it's safe to eat, right?_ **Yeah, I think so too.** I'm weary of all food I don't catch or gather myself. I've been poisoned enough times for food to revolt me. Not to mention all the times I've had to eat spoiled food. _It smells good..._ _I'll wait for them to sleep before I force the food down._

After they finished eating I notice their idle chitchat. About their home, friends, hobbies. After a while I've had enough. "Go to sleep, tomorrow will be an eventful day with little rest. I suggest you get what you can now." I state without looking back to them. Without arguments, they fall silent and after a while I notice the change in their charka's indicating they are asleep. I force down the food Inu gave me and clean the bowl before placing it with the other bowls. I place a seal on both their tents for protection and go back to where I sat. I'll stay here all night, senses alert for any chakra signatures. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the night is uneventful.

As I feel the chakra of Kuma change, I lift the seals. Kuma proceeds to wake up Inu, and they share the rest of the stew as breakfast. Inu notices the clean, empty bowl and a quick smile crosses his face. _What did I do to get that kind of interest for me?_ _I_ _don't_ _like it._ **He probably wants to keep you as a friend, Kit, just let him. At least you get some good food in you this way. You might even catch up on growth of you eat more.**

Inu brings me another bowl of stew. As he moves back to the camp, I quickly move my mask up and force the food down. After a second of nausea, the food settles. _Two meals within 8 hours. Must be a record._ I get up and clean the bowl again. "That was fast..." Inu says while sweat dropping as I set the bowl back. Kuma seems amazed at my action of cleaning the bowl and setting it back. "We leave in 10 minutes. Leave everything unnecessary here. Like I said yesterday, there will be little to no rest until we are back here. There also will be no sleep until we are back." I sit back down where I've been sitting all night, waiting for them to get ready.

Within 4 hours we reach our destination. A hideout carved into a mountain. I sense for the chakra signatures in the mountain. "14 readable chakra's, possibly 5 others. We have two options. One, get in there and search while making sure nobody sees us. This would leave the possibility that we are seen without us noticing. Or two, I go in first and clear the base. You can then search at your leisure. Your choice." I say. _Please pick the second_ _. I need it..._

Inu is the first to speak, "Well, being seen is not an option, so the safest route would be the second option". _If he continues like this, I might start to fucking like him._ Kuma just nods his head at Inu's remark. "I just don't see why you would need to go alone. If there are 19 ninjas in there, you could use our assistance, right?" Inu asks. I let out an audible sigh. "Once I start, I don't see foe or friend, nor do I remember orders from the Hokage. Stay here until I come get you." _Besides, with my high also comes a low_. With that said I activate a couple of seals on my legs and wrists and take out my sword with my non-dominant hand. The handle is wrapped in seemingly new red silk, the sleek blade is double edged and made of chakra infused black steel. After I crack my shoulder and neck, I take off to the hideout at a speed much higher than the one we travelled at. Inu an Kuma are staring after me. _Ahh_ _, I'm so excited._

In the first room I'm met with my first encounter. _Kill._ Before he can even turn around, my sword is cutting through him, the first blood gushing out of him and onto me. _Warm_. Before his lifeless body hits the ground, I hear someone behind me. _More._ As he sees his comrade fall, he yells in alarm before I appear in front of him in a yellow flash. _Scream for me_. I cut open his belly, shallow enough to not be lethal right away, but deep enough for his intestines to start to come out. _Show me pain_. In his last moments of consciousness, he manages to raise the alarm and 3 ninjas come running towards me. _Die_. In one motion I decapitate the first to reach me, blood hitting my face. _Tastes like iron_. I twist further to cut an arm from the second ninja and at the same time, the third ninja attacks me with his shuriken, hoping a long distance attack will keep him safe from me. _Show me fear_. I set my eyes on him, and charge at him, his eyes wide in fear. _Release_. I grab him by the throat, releasing the seal on the back of my hand. _Burn_ _._ My chakra is poring into the man. _Relief_. Before he realises what I did, I release my grip and I see a flicker of relief in his eyes. For a short second he thinks he might be unharmed, before he starts screaming in pain as his blood reaches a boiling point. He drops dead at my feet. _Play_. I slowly turn around an look at the armless ninja. _Terror_. I walk to him and slowly press my sword through his heart. _Alive_. I feel his heart beat fast around my sword, like the fluttering of butterfly wings tapping against the blade, increasing the damage the organ obtains with every beat untill it's unrepairable. _Smooth_. The blood runs down the hilt and onto my fingers, it feels soft and silky.

I look around the room. Two doors. I seal one so it cannot be opened an go through the second door. _None will escape_. In the next room I sense 8 chakra's waiting for me. _Darkness_. I switch my sword into my dominant hand, and with the other I activate a seal on my leg that seems to suck in all the light. _Covered_. I quickly cut through all of them, slowly but surely soaking myself in blood. I injure them severely but leave them to bleed out in pain. As I cut though them, some of them manage to cut me, but not enough to stop my movement. I don't feel any pain anyway. _Relish_. As I feel my blood mix with theirs on my body, I feel myself reaching a high. _Faster_. I quickly move through the building, every time I encounter someone, it only takes seconds to kill them. _Give me challenge_. Soon, only one chakra remains, and I walk into the room were I sense it coming from. _Pity_. There is an old man sitting in the room, shaking in fear, trying to protect the secrets we came to get. _Merciless_. I cut through the man, feeling blood and sweat drip from my face and arms. _Silence_. And then... then... nothing. Nothing moves, not even me. _Panic._ Slowly but steadily I sink into a dark mindset, hyperventilating, as I try to get to my mindscape, to Kurama. _Coming undone_. Screaming, laughing, crying. _Scared_. I fall on my hands and knees, slightly shaking. I'm gripping my sword in my shaking hands, but it feels too steady to be just in my hands. _Kurama... help me..._ Darkness seems to close around me. **Breath, Kit, I've got you. You'll be** **oké** **.** I feel Kurama's tails enclose me in my mindscape. _Soft_. As I steady my breathing, my surroundings become clear again.

As I look down at myself, I see I've pressed my sword through my own stomach. Deep enough to come out of my back. I steady my grip and slowly pull it back out and put it back in the sheeth on my back. The neat red silk is in taters due to the strength of my grip on the handle. The rough steel underneath the silk has cut into my hand. I can already feel Kurama healing me as best he can.

I slowly get up and as I walk towards the exit, I count my kills. _18, so what was the_ _fifth_ _charka_ _that was unclear?_ I'm standing in the first room when I remember the room I sealed when I walked in. I release the seal and step inside. In the back of the room, I sense the nineteenth charka again. Faint, but very much present. As I press onwards towards the presence, I feel uneasy. I release the light I sealed in the seal on my leg and see a bundle on the ground in the back of the room. I warily approach it. As I put my hands on the blankets, something inside moves, shivers and whines. I pull back the blankets to reveal a small, orange fox. _Oi Kurama, what's this?_ **Well, would you look at that, a battle fox. She must have been summoned here.**

I carefully pick up the fox as it trembles in my arms. I notice a collar around her neck. It seems to bind the poor creature to stay here. As I trace my fingers over the collar, I quickly find the weak spot and release the collar. The fox let's out a small yelp, expecting pain. After a couple of seconds, she realised I'm not hurting her. She unfurls himself on my lap and relaxes slightly. Another couple of seconds later, the fox poofes away. **Kit, foxes don't make contracts with humans as summoning creatures. This one must have been forced. Have your team look for summoning jutsu's**. _Yeah_ _,_ _okay_ _._

All and all, it took less then 20 minutes. Still covered in blood, I walk out to my team. Both of them visibly crinch at the sight of me. "All clear, 18 kills. If you find something on summoning jutsu's, I would like to know about is. Go." I sit down as they get up. Kuma starts running towards the building straight away, but Inu stops, turning to me. "Were you unharmed, Kitsune-same?" I look at him for a second. _What, you fucking care for me or something?_ "I'm fine, just go." I say coldy. Inu smiles at me before jumping after Kuma.

Three hours later, they come back with a load of scrolls and a little green-faced. _Yeah, it's nasty in there._ Inu throws one of the scrolls at me. "This is all we found on summoning jutsu's. It seems incomplete, but it looks like a contract for a new species. I'm sure the Hokage will be interested in it." He says while sealing the rest of the scrolls in a scroll similar to the one he kept his cooking pot in. I pocket the scroll. "Let's move out, I need to clean up." I say and move in to direction of our camp. **Kit, don't stress your body, take it slow. I'll need more time to fix your insides.**

For the way back I slowed my pace, so it took us just over 5 hours. As soon as we arrive, I step into the river, clothes and all. The water bites at my skin from the cold, but I don't care. Biting cold natural water makes me feel cleaner then even the hottest shower. The water turns red around me.

While in the water, I take all my clothes off to wash them as well. I feel Inu and Kuma watch me but I don't care. Inu walks over to the edge of the water. "Kitsune-sama, please allow me to put your clothing near the fire to dry. I've brought one of my spare shirts for you to wear." Mask still on, but further naked, I walk over to him. At the edge of the water, I wring out my clothes and hand them to Inu. After that I turn to go back in. _Still need to wash my hair better, blood is hell to get out._

Behind me I hear Inu gasp. "Kitsune-sama, your stomach..." I look down. The wound of where I stabbed myself still very visible and fresh looking. _Having_ _seen my front and back, Inu must think I'm fucking_ _mortally_ _injured_. "I'll live." I say softly, before diving under water and letting the cold calm me down.

I wait untill my audience is back at camp before I get out of the water. I put Inu's shirt on. Where it is tight on him, for me it fits as a loose dress. I sit back down at the same place as the previous night. Inu brings me food again and smiles. The night proceeds pretty much the same as last night except I don't eat this time. It would be too much in too short a time. Not to mention that I probably damaged my stomach.

Sometime during the night, I change back into my clothing. Next morning I also refuse breakfast. During the morning run back I took a slow pace since Kurama insisted on it. In the afternoon I return to my normal pace and we arrive in Konoha in the middle of the night. "We will report tomorrow at 8 to the Hokage. Get some rest, dismissed."

"Hai, Kitsune-sama" I hear in unison behind me.

Once I'm home, I collapse on my couch and just lie there for a few hours. Then I get up to my desk and start to examine the scroll on the summoning jutsu. _Incomplete might have been a slight overstatement. Being bound by this poorly constructed_ _jutsu_ _must have hurt the fox._ **Poor thing. Hopefully she got home alright.** _We could improve this, Kurama. I can make this work_. **Better you then someone else. Go for it, Kit. But you do need to show this to** **J** **iji** **. Inu know about the scroll, remember**. _Yeah, I remember._


	2. Going Solo

The following morning at 8, Inu and Kuma are standing in front of the Hokage's office, waiting for me. They haven't noticed me yet when the Hokage calls them in. "Hai Hokage-sama, but Kitsune-sama has not yet arrived" Inu says. _Eavesdropping_ _is_ _so_ _much_ _fun_ _._ _Can't_ _believe_ _Inu_ _shows_ _me_ _respect_ _even_ _when_ _I'm_ _not_ _around_. _Usually_ _their_ _attitudes_ _drops_ _when_ _they_ _think_ _I'm_ _not_ _there_. **Hn** **,** **there** **should** **be** **nothing** **but** **respect** **for** **you** **,** **Kit** **.**

"He'll show up, just start the report. I'm very interested, since you're back 3 days earlier than expected. Please, give me your report."

"Hai Hokage-sama, Kitsune-sama pushed us pretty hard during the traveling to get us back as soon as possible. Due to the layout of the enemy base, Kitsune-sama cleared the base before we entered to search for the scrolls." Inu hands over the scrolls as he spoke. "Kitsune-sama kept one scroll that took his interest. It was an incomplete research scroll on a summoning jutsu for a species not yet contracted with humans. I couldn't make out which animal, though."

"Hmm, did he now. It's been a while since something took his interest. Now I am curious about this jutsu." The Hokage says.

Kuma steps forwards and hits the desk with a fist. "That Kitsune kid is a monster." Kuma started yelling. "He barely spoke, pushed us to our breaking points with just travel, barely gave us time to catch our breath, didn't acknowledge Inu when he made food for him, cleared out the enemy base alone and left a horrible, sickening mess. It will leave me with nightmares just imagining what happened. All of them were missing their left pinky finger. One was left to die after having his stomach cut. He was still breathing when we got there." _O_ _yeah_ _, I_ _expanded_ _my_ _collection_ _. I_ _loved_ _the_ _way_ _that_ _Suna_ _ninja's_ _eyes_ _flickered_ _with_ _so_ _many_ _emotions_ _when_ _I_ _stepped_ _back_ _in_ _the_ _room_ _,_ _first_ _took_ _the_ _finger_ _of_ _the_ _dead_ _ninja_ _and_ _then_ _turning_ _to_ _the_ _one_ _alive_ _. I_ _really_ _took_ _my_ _time_ _to_ _cut_ _his_ _finger_ _off_ _looking_ _him_ _in_ _the_ _eyes_ _._ _"_ He took injuries, including a stab clean through the abdomen and acted like he was fine. We saw his wounds. It should have been crippling, those injuries. I've never seen anybody covered in so much blood and so calm at the same time. He just sat there, covered in blood, waiting for us to finish our search. The road back to the camp, he was still a bloody mess. I am not working with that monster fox again!" Kuma called out frustrated. "I've kept quiet the whole duration of the mission because of fear, but he should be locked away. He's a demon." _Well_ _..._ _there_ _it_ _is_ _,_ _lousy_ _Kuma_ _.._ _._

I slowly stand up from my seat, unsheath my sword silently and place the tip of my sword against Kuma's back as I release my chakra. _You'd_ _think_ _he'd_ _know_ _by_ _now_ _how_ _well_ _I_ _can_ _hide_ _with_ _the_ _times_ _I_ _fucking_ _surprised_ _him_ _already_ _._ **Well** **,** **not** **everybody** **can** **be** **as** **sharp** **as** **you** **.** I look at the Hokage to see what he will say as I slowly put more pressure on the sword cutting slightly into Kuma's skin, but he seems unphased. My eyes snap back to Kuma and I can see him tense and start to shake. In a cold calm voice I say "Inu gave input a couple of times, and I listened. I adapted myself to your maximun speed. And I even left you outside the enemy base while I killed, to prevent injuries and mental trauma to you. I do think I was considerate enough, right Inu?" I move my eyes from the back of Kuma's now sweaty neck and look at the Hokage. "Hai, Kitsune-sama." Inu answers.

The Hokage sighs. "Kitsune, you are still under orders to keep them unharmed. I am not disbanding this group yet." _Tsk, party pooper, just_ _wanted_ _to scare him_ _shitless_ _._ I immediately step down, putting my sword away. I hear a nervous but amused laugh from Inu. Almost a giggle. _What's with him, he should be scared too, he's creepy._ **Whahahaha** **, w** **hat's this? Somebody creeps YOU out? That's a** **first**. _Shut it, Kurama_ _._ "What jutsu did you find, Kitsune?"

"A really incomplete and badly put together summoning scroll. But the needed basics are there. I've been working on it last night and I know I can make this work if you let me keep the scroll, Hokage-sama." I say in a monotone voice. I deliberately leave out any details. P _lease, it'll_ _take_ _my_ _mind_ _off of things_ _while I'm not on missions._

"Fine, you can work on it during the downtime of your next mission. Kitsune, please seal this room so we can discuss the next mission between us four."

Without moving, I activate one of the seals on my body. "Done, Hokage-sama". _What the fuck is this about? He_ _never_ _makes me_ _seal_ _the_ _room_ _._ **Maybe he needs you to know** **you're** **in control.** _That makes is sound even worst, damn it, now I'm nervous._

"Do you have any friends your age, Kitsune?"

"No, I do not. _" Damn it, this is gonna be bad..._

The Hokage looks at me and seems tense. _Great_ _, now I'm freaking out_. "I thought so. Two week ago, you turned 11. In a year you will be 12. At that age, I can no longer keep your identity from the council. Since everything you have done will remain classified, you will have to start again to build an official reputation." _Wait, what?_ "Therefore, before you can officially regain your rank as an ANBU captain, you will need to go to the academy for at least one year to become a genin. After that, you will need to take the Chuunin exam. Once the rank of Chuunin, we can reinstate you to your current ANBU rank."

My eyes widen, my actual eyes. Luckily, behind the mask, no one seems to notice. _Fuck, this can't be happening._ I notice my presence has become extremely cold and try to reel it in, but I don't succeed.

"A year? No, I refuse." My voice sounds cold and consistent. _A fucking year without killing? Hell no, I'll snap. I want, no scratch that, I NEED to kill at least once a week._ I must still be giving off killing intent, because Inu and Kuma step back from me.

"Now, don't be like that, Kitsune. Kuma and Inu will keep watch on you 24/7." _Like that makes it any better!_ My hands tremble and I ball then into fists to try and keep control. I feel Inu looking at my hands. _Kurama_ _!_ **I feel ya, Kit. I got ya**. _If he tells them who I_ _really_ _am_ _, I'll lose everything I've build up. All the safety..._ Kurama's tails wrap around me comfortingly, but it does little to calm me down. I can feel my heart in my throat.

"I can't. I need to..." _Kill..._ My voice now ever so slightly cracked. I shoot a look at Inu and then back to the Hokage. Inu is way to good at reading my feelings. Inu looks surprised at the slight sign of emotion in my voice, the Hokage worried.

"Kitsune, unless you want to loose your rank within the ANBU you have no choice. This is the only way to solve this and have you back with us. Now, take your mask off and introduce yourself." I begin to take a step back, but catch myself before I complete it. My knees feel weak. I look from the Hokage to Inu to Kuma and feel tears in my eyes. **Kit, this might not be so bad.** **Inu** **seems trustworthy enough, and** **Kuma** **obedient enough. Maybe just trusting them a little** **will** **do you good.** _Inu_ _, maybe, but not_ _Kuma_. **Then** **tell** **Jiji** **that. He'll honour** **your** **request.**

In a shaky voice I say, "I-I'll still n-need to do missions in which I get to k-kill. And I want you t-to take Kuma off this mission."

"Are you panicking?" Inu asked. _Fuck yeah I_ _am_ _..._ _I feel_ _trapped!_ "I-I'm fine." My eyes fall on Kuma, my dislike for him getting noticeable in the air. I give him my coldest death glare and he stumbles back, flat on his ass. _Ha!_

"Kitsune!" The Hokage says in a warning tone. I look down, like a scolded child. The Hokage sighs. "Fine, Kuma, you are dismissed." Kuma leaves without a word. The Hokage looks back at me. "You get one mission per two weeks."

"T-two weeks? That long?" _Fuck,_ _this_ _will_ _be_ _so_ _fucking_ _hard_ _._

"Start working on a personality that will hide your ANBU status. Report once a week to Inu. He will be watching you." I nod weakly. "One more thing." _O_ _my_ _Kami,_ _even_ _more_ _?_ "Iruke will be your sensei at the academy and Kakashi will be the Jounin of your squad after you graduate."

"Them? Why them? They left me." I say out loud. I had wanted to keep that thought to myself. Inu walks to me, crouched down and gently places his hand on my shoulder. I completely tense up. _Don't touch_ _me_ _!_ "It's all right, I'll be there for you. Crying isn't a bad thing, feeling isn't a bad thing. Come on." He pulls me into a hug. I don't move, unsure of what to do, but somehow my mind calms down just a tad bit. _Warm_. Inu steps back and takes his mask off. "Call me Mizuno Hayate." He says smiling, while holding out his hand to me. I ignore it and look at the Hokage. He nods at me. I take a quick deep breath. With ever so slightly shaking hands, I take my mask off. I haven't taken my mask off in front of anybody in five years. It feels like I'm breaking down a wall with the effort it is costing me. I let my shaking hands fall and let go of the mask. With a dull thud it hits the floor. I look down and away from Inu who's still next to me, still trying to hide my face. My face looks feminine and soft. My blue eyes are big and would've been dreamy if they weren't so cold.

There was silence. It seems to last forever. And then it was broken by one simpele phrase.

"You're beautiful..." Inu is the first to speak. He sounds amazed as he stares at me. I look back at him, my eyes shooting from fear to panic to a defensive anger at such a short sentence. Stepping back, I subconsiencesly grab hold of my sword and get into a combat stance. Memories of the only time someone ever called me beautiful explode in my mind. It blurs my vision and drags me into my past.

"If you survive untill tomorrow morning, I might let you back in for another year, YOU FILTHY MONSTER!" Yelled the orphanage mother at me, emphasizing the 'if'. It was midnight, tomorrow would be my third birthday. Well, technically my birthday started now. I didn't understand what she meant, not about the surviving untill tomorrow morning or about being called a monster. I cried. I always cried when she would rant at me. She always called me filthy or a monster, but I washed myself every day and always did everything she asked me to do. I never complained or retorted about anything. Not about only getting what was left after everybody else ate, not about that I slept alone in an empty room, not about me having to do so many more chores then the other orphans. I was the best good boy I could be. So why call me monster or filthy? It always confused me.

The other children learned quickly never to show pity or concern for me. That would end in pain for me and the child showing me pity. Now nobody ever looks at me, except Mother with anger, and her husband with greed. Mister had build up a habit of coming into my room late at night. He started when I turned 2. He would say it was a way for me to pay him for keeping me in their home. Once, sometimes twice a week, he would come for me. Always with a medkit. He'd drain blood from me untill I fainted. Using multiple needles connected to blood bags, it would usually only take half an hour. The rest of the night, I would lay there, shivering and scared. Somehow, he never drew enough to kill me, or even make me feel fearful for my life. But I was scared of Mother walking in on me while I was recovering. She found me a couple of times. She would yell about how useless I was and that I should just die if I was going to be sick. The following day, however, I would usually be fine.

I don't want to leave the orphanage. How awful it might be in there, at least they wanted me alive, so they could make money off of me. But out there... Hatred, coldness and pain...

Mother picked me up and trew me out of the house. She doesn't even look back as she goes back into the house. At the door she stopped and without looking back she said, "Do not come back before tomorrow morning." With eyes full of tears, I picked myself up. I wandered into the streets. Shirt, pants and no shoes, the October cold quickly creeped into my body. I found a corner with less wind in a dark alley and fell asleep.

I woke up at the crack of dawn. Shivering from the cold, I left my place of hiding. All day I wandered around Konoha. Everywhere, the same hisses followed me. Demon! Monster! Killer! Murderer! Just die! How dare you be here? The occasional slap or kick followed the hiss. Cold eyes followed me everywhere. I hate it, why me? What did I do? How can I make it right if nobody ever wants to say what I did wrong? I was sore all over my body and dead tired by the time the sun was setting. Most people were already home or on their way back. I stumbled back to the place I slept last night. With nothing to eat all day and no chance to warm myself, the cold felt so much more intense then the night before.

As I drifted off to sleep, I hear a man's voice. I covered my head and cowered in fear. "You're beautiful..." I looked up. He was smiling, his eyes weren't cold. They weren't friendly, but at least they weren't cold. "Do you need a place to sleep?" He asked. I said nothing as I reached out to him, looking for any bit of warmth, kindness. I nodded my head with tears in my eyes. He picked me up and took me to his home. He gave me food and something hot to drink and let me warm up. His lust-filled eyes never left me.

"Be a good boy and come here." He purred at me. Putting all the trust I could muster into this one man that showed me some kindness, I walked up to him and stood in front of him. He picked me up and placed me on his lap, facing him, with my legs in either side of his hips. He placed his hands on my hips and slid them upwards, taking my shirt off. "This is gonna hurt you, demon." He whispered evilly into my ear. Fear like never before grabbed me. I screamed so loud and tried so hard to get away, but he tied my arms behind my back with my own pants, gagging with my shirt. After I felt him thrust into me, I stopped struggling quickly, as that made the pain worse. Screaming and crying, I waited for it to end.

When he was done, I was broken. I didn't dare move. Breathing was so hard. He pulled me up, put my pants back on and my saliva soaked shirt, before he pulled me to the door of his house en threw me out. I landed in a group of people. The cold and hard eyes that were watching me broke me even further. "Looks like Mother kept her promise." I heard someone say casually. When I felt the first kick, I just stopped. Stopped crying, stopped screaming, stopped reacting in any way. After an hour or so, they believed me dead. I wanted to be dead. I wanted to let go...

**Oi** **gaki**. I looked up. The streets were gone. _Where_ _am_ _I?_ _Why_ _am_ _I not hurting?_ **I'm blocking out** **your** **pain.** Looking around I saw a sewer like tunnel, and at the end of the tunnel, a cage with a paper as a lock. I walk up to the cage and saw red glowing eyes behind the bars. _Why?_ **To help you... Listen** **gaki** **, I'm gonna help you. It's my fault, everything that has happened to you, so now I'm healing you. Slight side effect of me blocking** **your** **pain now is that you might** **never** **feel real pain again, but I** **don't** **think that's a bad thing for you.** _Your fault? So_ _your_ _the demon. Are you inside me?_ **That's pretty fast,** **gaki** **, yes I** **am** **. I was sealed into you when you** **were** **born. I'm the one that** **almost** **destroyed** **Konoha** **3 years ago. I would've** **never** **done so if it wasn't for that damn** **Uchiha** _. So you_ _were_ _forced?_ **Yes.** _I'm sorry... You are strong, right? Will you help me become stronger so_ _they_ _can't hurt me anymore?_ **I can't make any promises, but I can train you to be a ninja. If you pick it up fast enough, who knows,** **alright** **?** _Okay, train me then._ Kurama gave a nod. _What's_ _your_ _name?_ **Whahahaha** **, now I already like you, kit. Name's Kurama.** _Nice to meet you, Kurama, I'm_ _Uzumaki_ _Naruto._

My breathing is loud and fast and I feel a tear in the corner of my eye. Reality came crashing back to me and all I see are Inu's eyes staring at me intensely.

_If he moves, he dies!_ I glare back at Inu. Kurama's tails tighten a bit around me, trying to steady me, but he remains silent.

"Naruto..." The Hokage's voice, full of sympathy, rings in my ears. I haven't heard my name since I decided to never take my mask off in front of people. I force myself look at him. "Inu will not harm you. You should know I would never allow that within my line of sight. Calm yourself down." I let go of my sword and it slides back into its sheeth. My hand finds my pouch and I grab a kunai. In one motion, I cut as deep as I can into my wrist. Then I just stare at the blood, waiting for the lightheadedness I know that should follow soon. Kurama is already healing the wound, he probably saw this coming. This isn't the first time. But still he is silent.

A couple of seconds later, I flinch as Inu gently grabs my hand and starts wrapping my wrist in bandages. "Please don't do that again, Kitsune-sama. You'd worry me to much." Inu says as he works, a worried look on his face.

"Why do you even care?" I ask, my voice a small whisper at best.

He looks up at me with kind eyes that remind me a bit of Jiji. "No matter how cold and unemotional you make yourself seem to be on the outside, Kitsune-sama, you are still just a kid, only 11. You still show care, just not in the way people would like you to. During the mission I noticed you dropping your speed for us, putting seals on our tents and more small acts of kindness. Now listen, I'll help you through this. Whenever you need someone to talk to, I'll be there. In just over a year, this will all be done, and you will be able to be ANBU captain again and I will still be by your side. We will make this work." Again he pulls me into a hug. Again I tense and don't move, and again I feel more calm. I don't feel the panic I did before as much. Inu steps back and him and I face the Hokage again.

"Fine, when do I start?"

"In one week. Until then, I suggest you work on a believable character for your school life mission. You are dismissed."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." We say in unison. Before I can move the Hokage says, ,"Oh, and Naruto, making at least one friend is part of your school mission." "Hai, Hokage-sama." I shunshin to the roof. I've left my mask in the office. I feel so naked right now. **So, in a week you'll be a school boy, this is gonna be interesting.** _Kurama! Why'd you stay quiet? I needed you!!_ I snap at Kurama. **Some battles you need to fight alone, Kit. I know you can do this.** _Hn_ _._ I tighten Kurama's seal, so he can't talk to me. I'll let him simmer for a while. Jumping from the rooftops, I make my way home.

The first thing I want to do is study the summoning scroll further just to get my mind settled a little. I take three days to study it and I make quick progress with it. I've let Kurama's seal go when I got home and he helped me contact the foxes. The little fox I rescued is the one to visit me. Because the foxes haven't been contracted before, they don't speak the human language. Kurama is acting as my translator. **Her name is** **Shoki** **. She** **says** **she always had an interest in humans, but was tricked by a** **Suna** **ninja that only hurt her. When you** **first** **walked in the** **room** **, the smell of blood terrified her so much she couldn't move, but** **your** **kind** **actions** **made** **her curious as to how different humans can be compared to each other. The fox council has decided that in time, you** **will** **be tested for strength. After that, you** **will** **visit the valley and undergo another test. If you succeed there also,** **they** **will** **contract with you.** I pick up Shoki and give her a hug. "I'm sorry I scared you. I look forward to seeing your valley." Shoki puts her nose in my neck in a cuddle and then poofs away.

With four days left, I decide to work on my character. I'll need a new look, and an easy to maintain personality trait that can overshadow my other characteristics. **What about a loud-mouthed brat? Speak** **your** **mind** **on everything in the most annoying and stupid way... And just fail everything?** _Well, a loud personality would need a loud outfit... I'll need to shop._ A shiver runs down my spine. I hate having to go into town to shop. Now I don't even have my mask.

As soon as I land in the streets, the first thing I hear is, "Look, it's the monster! What is it doing here?" "Filthy child, why is he still alive?" and other whispered insults are spoken between the villagers. I only hear them because of my enhightend senses. It's like I never left and I feel so cold on the inside. _Damn villagers, I hate them._ **Quickly get it over with then.** Kurama sighs. As do I. I walk into a clothing shop and quickly grab the most screaming colour I see. I don't even try it on. I can tell it's too big, but I'll adjust it at home. As quick as I can, I pay and jump up to the roofs. Finally, I feel like I can breath again. _Fuck, this was harder then an SS-ranked solo mission!_ I go home, adjust the orange jumpsuit with blue patches and loiter around the house for the rest of the day. I made sure the outfit would cover my arms and legs to hide my tattoos.

The next two days I spent training, then a days rest and then my last free day I spent training again. Tomorrow will be my first day at the academy. Walking around without my mask has become easier, because of the mask of fake emotions I put on now. A big grin and happy attitude. Villagers don't seem as aggressive as they once were, though their hatred still seems just as strong. But they are more afraid of me now then they were before. I can keep them at bay by sending them some cold killer intent when they do get too loud or too close. I can manage this. Still, I don't go near crowds if I can help it. Every time I'm near a crowd, I feel panic building up.

For dinner tonight, I decide to surprise Teuchi and Ayame at Ramen Ichiraku. They were ones of the few that have always been nice to me. I haven't been to their restaurant without my mask since I got it. As Kitsune they respected me and I always enjoyed eating there. When I step into the restaurant, there is a silence. "Na-Naruto-kun!" Ayame stammers. I give a big smile. "Hi, Aya-nee." "Where have you been? It's been 5 years! We were so worried!" Ayate says. "I know, I'm sorry I disappeared on you guys. You're the only ones that ever shows me kindness. I'll start coming more often again, I promise." They look happy at me. "Here you go, Naruto, a large Miso Chashu Pork with extra toppings, on the house!" Teuchi tells me. I give another big smile and happily eat. After saying goodbye I quickly go home. For the first time in forever I actually get a good night's sleep...


	3. School life

**Kit, time to wake** **up** **now** **!..** *annoyed grumples* **KIT, you better get moving!.. School starts in... ten minutes ago!** _What! Kurama, you fuck, could you not have started waking me up earlier?_ **Why? Dead last and late make a nice combo! Just walk in loud and proud!** Kurama sniggers while making sassy hand gestures. _Kami_ _damnit_ _, stupid fox._ **I love you too, kit.** _Tsk_. **What did you want me to do anyways? Stare at your clock all night?** _Hn_. I quickly get out of bed and put on the orange jumpsuit. Because it's too big, it hides my muscles nicely. There is enough room to hide weapons and moving is easy. Skipping breakfast, I head out jumping from rooftop to rooftop. I'm at the academy within 5 minutes of waking up. As I stand in front of the classroom door, I screw up my face in a big, teethty smile and knock.

"Come in." I hear Iru-nii say. It's been at least a few years since I spoke to him. As soon as his eyes fall in me, I know he recognizes me. I can see a small shiver run down his back. "A-ah yes, the new student." He says with a slightly faltering smile. "Everybody, this boy will be starting with us as of today. Please welcome him." Then he turns to me. "Please introduce yourself and then sit down at a free space." I face the class and with a slightly too loud voice and smiling face, I say/yell, "Yo, everybody, my name's Uzumaki Naruto! I hope we will be friends! Let's make this year fun, don't ya know!" After that, I put my hands behind my back and smile as I walk to my seat. _This is already exhausting..._ **Just keep smiling, just keep smiling** _._ Kurama is humming in the back of my mind. I sit down next to a black haired boy with a sullen expression.

"Oi, can I borrow a pen?" I ask after a while, slightly to loud to be a whisper so most of the class can hear me. I can feel some amazed looks turn to me. "What, you didn't bring any? Haven't you ever been to school before or something? A pen is kind of basic to bring with you." The black haired boy replies as he hands me a pen. "Thanks you! And no, this is my first time going to school!" I say excitedly. I feel several people sweat drop at my loudness and enthusiasm. _Well, easy enough. They all seem to buy it._ As I look back at Iru-nii I see him look quite amazed as well. Well, it is a big change from the emotionless kid he knew me as last time we really spoke. He quickly picks himself up, though, and continues the lesson of today. Quickly after the lessons continue, I let a posture of boredom and sleepiness take over my body. I look like I'm slumped in my seat, doodling on a piece of paper. In truth, I've started profiling all my classmates. I've drawn a seal on the paper, allowing it to store information. As I write it down it disappears from the paper, allowing me keep writing. Their records will be quite extensive by years end, but I will weed out those I do not think will make it through to actual Genin. Six of them have the potential right now to actually make it, the rest would need to make more progress to even stand a chance.

All and all, the first months have past by well enough. I just barely passed all the tests I took. I could have aced them, but that would show too much of my cover. Because I was absent quite regularly, my average grade was insufficient, making me dead last. Combine my absence with my apathy in classes and loud outbursts in between, most students agreed I was completely useless. Iru-nii would throw me the occasional question, I would loudly proclaim partially correct answers and slump back in my seat when the others laughed. Here en there, I threw a correct answer, sometimes even a profound answer, throwing everybody off. I've made it my game to get as much reaction from people as possible. Inside school and out. I've been pulling pranks all over town. The Uchiha in the seat next to me being my number one target. I know his history and I love to torment him with it by dropping small facts into our short conversations that might indicate I know about him and what happened to him. Itachi was quite the ANBU and was a good subordinate to me. One of the few to stick by me by choice.

Every two weeks or so I would be absent for two to four days, out killing on a mission. It was enough to keep me calm, but just barely. The Hokage picks solo assassination missions for me. I would go, slowly cut the enemy apart with the most painfully non-lethal injuries I could make and let them bleed out while I sat next to them, staring right at them. Then, just before they would pass out, I'd take their pinky finger. Seeing the new fear in their eyes flare up just before the light dying out for good was quite satisfying. The missions usually involve more then one kill. Injuries I sustained were never worrying to me. Hell, the more severe injuries were self inflicted. Usually I would injure myself after a killing spree. Mostly it was because the high of killing would throw me into a low of panic and I would try to kill myself during the panic. Sometimes I cut into myself because I didn't get to see enough blood or pain. That last bit was usually after getting home, though.

When there was only one target, I would be more irritable in the following weeks. If Iru-nii would ask me questions when I was in such a mood, I'd sent him a quick burst of killer intend, but for the rest, my act as a happy idiot would remain intact. He usually would get the message. The class would feel it too, but most would not even think it could come from me. Sasuke would shoot me a look, as would Shikamaru and surprisingly Sakura. She, together with Choji, are now also part of the students I think will pass. The rest? Well, I've stopped taking their details down and removed the records I had of them.

As I'm on my way to the academy, I feel a faint tingling in my left arm. Immediately I turn around and head for the Hokage's office, unsealing my mask hidden in the sealing tattoo on my wrist. I give a quick tap at the window before entering through it, not really waiting for a response. _Seems I interrupted something, nice!_ Pretending not to have noticed I'm disrupting a meeting, I yawn, stretch and make my way over to the couch in the office and lay down on my back, hands behind my head, one leg pulled up and the other on top of it. I close my eyes. The Hokage clears his throat and turns to the person in front of him. "Anyways, as I was saying, the details are in the scroll. You should be able to get back in a week. It's an S-ranked mission because you will need to do this with a lot of haste and precision. When you get there, nothing can go wrong, because it will negatively influence the bonds between Konoha and Iwa. The bonds are fragile as is, so take care. Kitsune here will join you. Follow his command." The man with the hawk mask looks back at me and then back at the Hokage and back at me. He must be a new member. Because of my solo missions and absence from the ANBU training grounds, he doesn't know me. "A kid? What the hell? Why would I need to listen to the kid?" Taka says. "Because he's your senior by 7 years and an ANBU captain." The Hokage says calmly. "Kitsune, I'm sorry to say this mission will not be entirely up your alley, but due to the importance, I've decided you are to join."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." I say without even getting up. I open one eye and look at Taka. "Main gates, one hour." I tell Taka before I disappear from my spot on the couch.

The trip is boring, the mission is boring, Taka is boring. A whole week, nothing happened. Taka seems satisfied, since it's mission accomplished, but really, not even a single enemy and not even a drop of blood spilled. It's now been 3 weeks since my last kill and I feel on edge. I can't sleep at all, I eat even less now and the Hokage refused to give me a new mission, since I would miss too much school. _Like I fucking learn anything there._ I feel so frustrated. **Calm, kit, in two months it's graduation time and you still need 40 days of attending class for you to qualify for the graduation tests.** _Waah_ _, I know, but Jiji promised me once every two weeks..._

I'm at school, a good two hours early. I'm reorganizing the records I have on the 8 students and have devided them into teams I think would suit them best. It would leave me with Sakura and Sasuke. Not bad, also not great.

Half an hour before class starts, Shikamaru and Sasuke walk in the room. "What are you doing here so early, dobe?" Sasuke asks me. "Yeah, and why does look like you're actually doing something serious?" Shikamaru adds. I let out a small sigh. "I've been profiling everybody in class since I've started here. This morning, I've started grouping the students together based on their skills. Shikamaru, that would put you with Choji and Ino. And Sasuke, that would put you with Sakura and me. Then the last team will be Kiba, Hinata and Shino." I say with a monotone, but rather raspy voice and a bored expression as I seal my scrolls away and and slump over the desk. My voice is raspy because a blade kinda cut into it last night... Lucky me, Kurama doesn't want to die yet, so he healed me before I was even able to pass out. Ah well, I can always try again...

To hide the healing scar, I've wrapped my throat in bandaged. **What are** **you doing? That was completely out of character!** _Well... They suspect something anyway, might as well throw them a bone. See how far they can get. And how much I can get away with..._ _Besides, I really don't have the energy today to keep smiling._ "Who are you and what have you done to Naruto?" Shikamaru asks with a fake scared expression. I smile and put a stupid grin on. "Never mind, forget what I just said, don't ya know!" They sit down and occupy themselves with their on work, shooting me a look from time to time. I've taken on my usual bored posture and they seem to accept it. "What's with the raspy voice, dobe?" Sasuke asks. "Huh? O, I did some stupid things last night, teme." Sasuke looks at me for a while. "That about sums up your live, doesn't it?" _Wau_ w, _sassy Sasuke!_ I just smile at that comment.

The rest of the students start walking in. _Why are they so LOUD?!_ **They're not, kit, you're just irritable. Watch your step today.** _Great, my fault then. Just great._ **That's not what I meant and you know it.** Kurama sighs and grumbles something in the back of my mind. The first lesson is history and it's boring. Iru-nii is going on and on about the Kyuubi attack of almost twelve years ago. "Naruto, how is a tailed beast defeated?" Iru-nii asks me. "Why are you asking me?" I throw back with an irritable tone and a quick shot of killer intent. Several people are looking in my direction, as I lay slumped on my desk with no interest at all in the subject. "Now Naruto, at least give it a try. You should know this!" I sigh. "Fine." I slap my hand down and sit up. "The tailed beasts or Bijū are monsters made of chakra. There are nine Bijū, with the Kyuubi, the most powerfull one of them, being the one to have attacked our village 12 years ago. Nobody knows the exact reason for the attack. The Kyuubi was defeated by the fourth Hokage at the cost of his and his wife's lives. As chakra cannot be destroyed, the only option is to contain the tailed beasts in a container, a Jinchuuriki. Jinchuuriki are people chosen to be the container of the Bijū because they have a certain affinity with the Bijū or have bloodline allowing them to keep the immense chakra of the Bijū in check. The danger is that the person whom is used as a container can loose their sanity as the chakra of the Bijū is mixed with that person. Long term exposure effects have varied greatly between Bijū and Jinchuuriki. Good enough, Iruke-sensei?" I drum up monotonely, no trace of a smile or any emotion for that matter. I feel Kurama and see Iru-nii sweat drop. After a short silence, Iru-nii stammers, "Y-yes, very good, Naruto, correct. Well, I think it's time for a break. We'll continue in 15 minutes." I slump back down. _I'm so tired, I wanna go home.._ **Off course you're tired. You haven't slept in over two weeks and you practically drained yourself last night.** **..**

Iru-nii leaves the room. Almost instantly, Sasuke and Shikamaru are standing next to me. "Naruto, you're smart, aren't you?" Shikamaru asked. I ignore him. The other six have started listening and also walk over. Apparently, Shikamaru and Sasuke have let them in on their suspicion of me being more that meets the eye. The silence drags on for a while. "Naruto, if you're smart, then why not show us you are?" Sakura asks. I sigh and slowly sit up. The usual mask of smiles and happiness is not present. With rather cold eyes, I turn to Sakura. She squeels in fear when she meets my eyes. "Leave me alone today, why don't you." "Naruto, what..? Hey, stop scaring Sakura!" "Yeah, it's just a question." They all mumble in agreement and keep pushing me for answers. Question after question is thrown at me and they are crowding me way too much. Slowly but surely, I feel bits of self control vanish. **Kit, calm down!** Small bits of killer intent flare at each question thrown at me. I stand up and stare at the one who is the loudest and most pushing. Surprisingly, it's Shikamaru. He can't figure me out and it's frustrating him. He knows there has to be more to me than just the dead last, loud, happy idiot I make myself out to be. Well, sucks to be him now, because now he's frustrating me. **Breath, kit, come on!** I take a step towards him, and everybody backs away. The room has become completely silent. **Stop this, kit!** Another step and Shikamaru stumbles back again. Another step and he's against the back wall. With every step, my killer intent fills the room further, makings many students breathless. Especially Shikamaru, who is on the recieving end of it. I slowly raise a hand and move it towards his neck. Fear is evident in his eyes and I'm loving it. An animalistic noise is sounding in the depths of my throat, like a growling, clicking sound. "Show me red." I whisper so quietly nobody hears me. **Kit, no, stop this!** Kurama's tails grab me in my mindscape trying to get me to back off. Shikamaru is shaking. Before I can touch him though, Iru-nii walks back in and quickly understands my state of being, having seen it before during ANBU training. "Naruto, control and discipline, take time!" Iru-nii practically yells in a very autorative voice he doesn't use that often in class. As if a light switch has been hit, the killer intent smothering the room is gone, I turn to face Iru-nii, drop myself on my knees with my knees slightly apart. My feet are next to each other and resting on their toes. As I sit down on my feet, I place my open hands palm up on my legs. I look slightly down and my face is completely emotionless. Years of ANBU training have made this an almost automatic response to those words. It was necessary to make me respond automatically to this phrase to control me when I became to excited or bloodthirsty during training. Iru-nii walks up to me. "How long ago, Naruto?" Iru-nii asks in an autorative tone. Without looking up and with a monotone voice I reply. "3 weeks, 4 day, 6 hours." "And sleep?" "2 weeks, 3 days, 12 hours." Iru-nii sighs. "And food?" "...3 days..." "Naruto..." Iru-nii's voice is laden with sympathy. "Show me your neck." I look up. Cold blue eyes meet sympathy filled brown eyes. I slowly pull back the bandages, showing an almost faded scar. It would seem like an old wound to most, but Iru-nii knows it must be very recent to leave any scar at all on me. "Do you need to go home?" Iru-nii asks. "I can't, I need the attendence to graduate. I can not do this again." Another sigh and a nod from Iru-nii. "Fine, stay. Everybody, leave Naruto alone for today. And take your seats! We're continuing the lessons."

For the rest of the day I'm pretty much left alone. I feel the occasional curious look, not only from the 8, but also from the other students. I ignore them. I ignore everything and just sit there, slumped in my seat. Somewhere during the day, I actually manage to drift off to sleep for an hour or so.

After class, Shikamaru walks up to me. "Its troublesome, but I pushed too far it seems, I apologize." He says to me. I look up and smile. "It's fine, Shikamaru, I went too far as well, don't ya know."

"But Naruto, I do consider you a friend and I don't like it when I feel like my friends are hiding something from me. You think you could let us see more of the real you? That most of your behaviour is an act is quite obvious. Well, to me at least. And Sasuke noticed too." Shikamaru says making sure nobody except Sasuke and I can hear him. "After graduating, maybe... Listen, I'm fine, it's fine, everything is fine, don't ya know!" I say smiling. Sasuke looks at me and says. "If you haven't slept in two and a half weeks, you must be an insomniac. Next time you're awake for too long and irritated because of it, tell us, so we can back down more." I look at Sasuke. I never expected any sympathy shown from him. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind, teme." I throw him another smile. This one slightly genuine. Sasuke seems to notice the difference, but does not comment. "I'm going home." I say as I pick up all my things and start to walk out of the class room. "See y'all tomorrow, don't ya know!" I yell over my shoulder with a smile before I start to run towards home. Once I'm home, I just lie down on my couch and do nothing for hours. It's one of my favourite ways to spend an evening. At three in the morning, I force some food down and continue to do nothing, but now I'm in my bed. Again I fall asleep for an hour or so. I complete my night with an hour of meditation, ready for a new school day. _Just rinse and repeat, keep breathing, keep smiling, right, Kurama?_ **You got it, kit!**

Iru-nii must have talked to Jiji, because a couple of days later, the Hokage calls me in for another mission. Thank Kami it's an assassination mission. Pity for the poor fools I get to hunt down... I'm gonna put in so much effort to make this last an eternity for them...

All my missions after the incident in class have been assassinations. The last few months of school went by without a hitch. Neither Shikamaru nor Sasuke have found any new hints to my true persona.

I know Shikamaru still remembers I sorta, kinda promised him answers after graduating. I wonder how long it will take him to ask again after we graduate?

The tests are today. Just before class starts, I feel the faint tingling in my left arm again. Within a second, I'm in the Hokage's office. "Hokage-sama" I greet him. "Good, you came here quickly. I know the exams start in five minutes, so I'll be quick. We have reason to believe that one of the exam proctors will be going after one of the students that don't graduate, in order to trick them into stealing one of the hidden scrolls containing forbidden jutsu's. I hope my suspicions turn out to be incorrect, but just in case, I need you to fail the exams and get his attention on you. Of course, you will be granted a retest after it is proven that there is a traitor amidst the proctors." The Hokage explained. "And if there is no traitor?" I ask in a monotone voice. "You will get a retest all the same." "Hai, Hokage-sama." I shunshin to just outside the classroom and enter. Everybody has already taken their seats and are looking at me. "What, I'm not late, am I?" I hear Iru-nii sigh. "No, you're not, Naruto, but just barely. Take your seat so we can get started." The written tests had already been past out. I sit down and get ready to elegantly, but completely fail my exams.

After all the exams are over, I take a seat on the lonely swing in the school playground. Staring at the parents proudly picking up their kids, I let out a sigh at the sight. Then, I feel Mizuki-sensei's presence appear behind me. "I really do think you should have graduated, Naruto. I tried my best to make Iruke-sensei see that too" Mizuki-sensei starts in a sweet, soft voice. "I really wanted to, Mizuki-sensei, I really tried hard." I reply in my saddest voice. "Maybe you still could!" Says Mizuki-sensei a little excited. "Really? How? What do I do? Tell me, please? I'll do anything!" I eagerly ask him, I've put my smile back on my face. "Well Naruto, I noticed you're able to avoid most Chuunin and some Jounin quite easily, so this should be easy for you. Go to the Hokage's tower and take one of the forbidden jutsu scrolls from the archive. If you can manage to learn one of those skills, Iruke-sensei will have no choice but to pass you. After you learn a jutsu, you can hand me the scroll and I'll make sure it gets back without anyone noticing. How does that sound?" As I look at him, I drop my smile and let my face go back to its natural, emotionless look. My cold eyes locked onto his. With a cold voice I say. "It's sounds like I will need to take you to the Hokage and start planning your interview with Ibiki-nii." Before Mizuki-sensei can even react, I grab him and shunshin him directly into the Hokage's office. "Hokage-sama, Mizuki-sensei here would like me to steal one of the hidden jutsu scrolls, so that I can learn one of the jutsu's and instantly graduate from the academy. He kindly offered to take the scroll back for me after I've learned the jutsu and graduate." Mizuki-sensei is looking amazed at me and confused about the rest. "So he's the traitor? Interesting." The Hokage snaps his finger and three ANBU appear. "Take Mizuki here to the Torture & Interrogations department for questioning. Would you care to join, Naruto?" "Well, don't mind if I do... but I did graduate, right? No more tests? Since I know most of the jutsu's in those scrolls and knowing one of them is apparently enough to graduate. Can I drop the act now?" Mizuki-sensei's eyes widen at my casual tone with the Hokage. "Since Mizuki-kun said so, it must be true. Yes, you graduate. You can drop some of the act, but your true status must remain hidden untill you make Chuunin." The Hokage says amused as he throws me my hitai-ate on white cloth. It's dented here and there and has a few scratches, but I'm glad to have mine back. I bind it around my neck and then follow the ANBU and Mizuki-sensei to the T&I department. _This will be a fun night!_


	4. Team of Genin

After staring into my closet for a few minutes I decide on wearing my white leather pants that continue in a soft fabric from the knees down, allowing easy movement. The stitching of the pants is in a soft pink. Above it, I wear a skin tight white long sleeved shirt that ends on the widest part of my hips and a chainmail sleeveless shirt over it. The long sleeves are cut at the elbow and a button is keeping the lower parts connected, leaving my elbows exposed and making it so I can take off the sleeves easily when necessary, while keeping a lot of things hidden as long as I wear them. To top it off, I wear a sleeveless gray vest with a hoodie that stops a few inches lower than my shirt. I put on white battle boots with the same soft pink accents as my pants. My hitai-ate is on a white cloth around my neck. My hair is in high ponytail, with a lock of it loose to frame my face. I love the white leather, but as an ANBU I didn't wear it too often. The red of blood is almost impossible to get out, but since I don't expect any mission that would actually require me to dirty my clothing at all, I'm guessing this outfit will do nicely after the orange jumpsuits of the last year.

After getting dressed, I head for the academy. _We'll see if I was right about the teams_ _compositions_ _! Kurama, any_ _ideas_ _on who the_ _Sensei's_ _will be? I know I'll get_ _Kaka_ _-_ _nii_ _,_ _since_ _Jiji said so._ **Probably** **some** **jounin** **. There** **were** **no** **other** **ANBU** **members** **interested** **anyway.** _Yeah,_ _guess_ _not._ Mizuki-sensei provided me enough entertainment last night to make me last for a while, which is a good thing, because I don't expect many opportunities to go on good missions now that I'll be part of a team.

When I arrive in the classroom, half of the class is already there. I see a lot of students I've written off in possession of a hitai-ate. _So, another test then before it's official?_ **You know, kit, it's pretty arrogant to assume you're right and that** **something** **still needs to be done instead of even considering you** **might** **have been wrong.** _So,_ _you_ _think I'm wrong?_ **No, but you are arrogant...** _Thanks, I do try..._ The students are staring at me. I catch whispers of "Who's that?" and "He's hot" over the murmur now in the classroom. I sit down at my usual spot. Like always, I slump over the desk, but instead of the fake happy air around me that I used to carry, I'm not showing any emotion at all. Because of the oh so familiar slump however, the murmur changes to one of recognition, but it quickly dies out. _Maybe they figured out_ _someone_ _can actually_ _wear_ _different outfits?_

Shikamaru walks in the class, looks up at me, then looks at his seat before looking back at me in surprise. As he walks over to me, I see Sasuke enter the class as well. As Sasuke sees Shikamaru walking over to me, he is quick to join. "What? Gonna play twenty questions with me or something?" I ask in an emotionless tone, face also emotionless.

"Well, you did say that after we graduate, you would answer questions." Shikamaru reminds me.

"I said maybe. Besides, we're not official genin yet. Let's meet up Saturday afternoon and I'll answer three questions. Think carefully about what you will ask. I promise I'll answer as close to the truth as I'm permitted, but if you ask the wrong questions, I might not be able to answer at all."

Before either Shikamaru or Sasuke can say anything, Ino and Sakura walk in the room. Both see my new look, but don't really react to it. "Naruto, let me sit there, I want to sit the last day next to my Sasuke-kun!" Sakura starts.

"No, I'm sitting there, forehead, like he wants to sit with you!" Ino throws at Sakura.

"Shut up you both and sit where you normally sit." I say in a cold voice.

"What? Naruto-baka, just move already!" Sakura moves to push me off my seat. Normally I would let her as part I'll my act, but now I just ignore her pushing. It looks like she's pushing at a wall while I just stay unmoved. "Naruto-baka, move!" She moves to hit me. I grab her hand and twist it until I see it hurts her.

"Don't hit me again. Fine, I'll move" I let go of her hand and get a surprised look. The cold monotone voice is so unlike what they are used from me. I stand up and walk over to Sasuke, who has sat down in the meantime. "I'll just sit here." I say while throwing Sakura and Ino a cold look. I sit down on Sasuke's lap, facing him, wrapping my hands behind his neck. I lean into his ear and whisper ever so softly "You're cute, I've have had an eye on you for a while." I can feel a shiver running through Sasuke and as I move back I'm met with a bright red face and eager eyes. _Would you look at that, Sasuke's into guys! This could be fun!_ **Don't break the boy's heart, kit. I don't think he can handle that after what happened with Itachi.**

Sakura an Ino are screaming for me to get off of Sasuke, but I ignore them. Sasuke is still red-faced as he looks into my eyes and he makes the slightest movement forwards. At that I also lean in and let our lips touch. Sasuke immediately respond back and I feel a hand slide into the hair of my neck, pressuring me into this kiss. I lick his lips and he opens his mouth to me immediately. As we deepen the kiss, I feel Sakura moving in to hit me again. Again I grab her first without even looking up or interrupting the kiss. After a little while, Sasuke pulls back to catch a breath. I keep my forehead on his and whisper for only Sasuke to hear "Well, that was nice. Let's continue this sometime." A breathless "Y-yeah..." is all I get for an answer.

At that moment Iru-nii walks into the room. I look back at him as he clears his throat to call us to order. At that moment he spots me on top of Sasuke, a quick blush passes his face. Iru-nii clears his throat. "Naruto, please get off of Sasuke and take you seat. Same goes for the rest of you, please sit in your assigned seats. It might be the last day, but the seat assignment still counts!"

There is movement through out the classroom as everybody makes their way to their seats. I get off of Sasuke and sit in the seat beside him. He's still looking flustered. _Did I just steal a first kiss? Nice!_ I feel Kurama sweat dropping, but he remains silent.

"Ah, my students, we've had quite a year together." Iru-nii begins his end of year speech. "I've seen you all grow this past year and I'm very pleased to see all of you who have risen to the challenge of becoming a genin, a recognized ninja of Konoha. You've all had your difficulties and I'm sure your going to meet more, but you will be helped in your efforts as genins by Sensei's chosen to fit your new squad dynamic the best. I've been advising and sorting with the Hokage himself to make the best teams possible. Not only for abilities that fit together, but also personalities. I'm very pleased that I'll be the one to divide you into your new three man squads. But before I do, I just need to warn you about what your future will hold. There will be difficulties and hardships. There will be many things that will not go as you want them to go, and you will have to deal with them. Be there for your team members, support each other and let each other be yourselves. Every one of you has the possibility to become stronger than you can imagine now, but you will need to work together in order to attain that strength. Let the squad become your strength and you will never have to look for power. Challege each other to find more of your strengths, but also learn to accept your and your team's weaknesses. Knowing them will help you understand them. Understanding then might lead to accept them or overcome them. Either way, it will make you stronger. Now, as for the squads." Iru-nii picks up a list and I tune out for a short while, until I hear the names of my predicted groups. "...Uchiha Sasuke, Hanaro Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto. Your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi. Your team is chosen to be a strong combination and to draw out each others strengths. Good luck, team 7!

Next Team 8 will be Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuke Kiba with Akamaru and Aburame Shino. Your sensei will be Yuhi Kurenai. Your team has been chosen for your sensory abilities that should prove invaluable in your future cooperation. Good luck, team 8!

Next Team 10 will be Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka Ino. Your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma. Your team is chosen because your clans have proven to work well together before and we hope to see this in your team as well. Good luck, team 10!

Now, your Sensei's will be here shortly, so just sit tight and wait for them. I'm sure everyone will behave until they arrive. And with that, I'll take my leave. Good luck everybody, and come and see me again sometime!" Iru-nii disappears in a puff of smoke.

Immediately the class is filled with talk and sounds of movement as the new teams search each other out. Sakura shuffles over to us and without a sound, she sits down on the other side of Sasuke. We don't talk to each other, but Sakura keeps taking quick looks at Sasuke and she looks like she can't believe her luck to be on the same team as Sasuke. Between her looks at Sasuke she throws me uncertain looks.

After an hour we are the only team left. After two hours Sakura is becoming louder and louder, complaining about Kaka-nii being late and the things she could have been doing. After three hours, I feel Kaka-nii walking into the school. As soon as he opens the door, I throw a kunai at his face. Not full speed, but enough for Kaka-nii to not be able to fully avoid it. It scrapes his cheek, drawing a small amount of blood. "Who..." He looks as Sakura, then Sasuke and then he spots me. I'm sitting in my seat, staring out the window, innocence floating around me... "Right, meet me at the roof within 5 minutes." Kaka-nii disappears from his spot. Sakura an Sasuke get up and walk to the door. Noticing I'm not moving, Sasuke turns around. "You coming?" I look up and smile. "I'm already there." I say as I seem to dissolve from the class. I shunshin to the roof. I hide my chakra and appear behind Kaka-nii. I keep myself hidden as I wait for the rest of my team.

A couple of minutes later, Sakura and Sasuke walk up to us and sit down in front of Kaka-nii. "Where's the blond?" Kaka-nii asks. "Behind you." Sasuke responds. Kaka-nii gulps and slowly turns around. As he sees me, he jumps away. To bad for him I already put an explosive tag on him... _Stupid Kaka-_ _nii_ _, calling me the blond. Well, he'll notice eventually_... Sasuke and Sakura give Kaka-nii a confused look. "Ah, haha, right, I knew he was there." Sasuke and Sakura sweat drop and Kaka-nii clears his throat. "Right, introductions, who's first?"

"Kakashi-sensei, why don't you go first, so we can know what to say." Sakura says.

"Sure, I'm Hatake Kakashi, there are things I like and things I dislike. I have hobbies but you are too young to hear them and my dreams... You are also too young to hear about them. Next up, pink hair!"

"But you didn't tell us anything except to your name!" Sakura exclaims.

"And your point is..?" Kaka-nii asks.

"... Never mind, I'm Hanaro Sakura. What I like is, eh I mean who I like is..." As she struggles with her words, she looks at Sasuke. "What I don't like is Ino-pig, my hobby is... " Looks at Sasuke. "and my dream is to..." She looks at Sasuke again.

"Great, very enlightening, next, black head"

Sasuke looks shocked at the nickname but chooses not to respond to it. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke, there are very few things I like, and a lot of things that I don't like. I suppose training to become stronger is my hobby and I don't have a dream. I do have an ambition to restore my clan and get revenge on the person who has destroyed my life."

"Nice life goal, good balance... Next..."

A small hiss started to sound from behind Kaka-nii. He knows it was the sound of an explosive tag burning before exploding. He leaps up into the air. As he puts a little distance between us and him, the tag explodes. It wasn't a strong explosion, but enough to push Kaka-nii around a bit. Kaka-nii is blasted back towards us, landing on his feet, but just barely. "Why, Naru-chan?" Kaka-nii calls out in sad disbelief. "Why would you try to hurt me?"

"You were gonna call me 'the blondy', weren't you? I really wouldn't care for that, now, would I?" I ask with a raised eyebrow and a cold voice. "Right, right, sorry. Please, introduce yourself." Kaka-nii says with a short nod towards me. "Fine, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, things I like involve bloodshed. Things I don't like are almost always around me and looking at me, sometimes I have trouble handling that properly. My hobbies are the same as my likes and my dreams are quite disturbing and gorey, which is also pretty much the same thing as my likes." I say in a monotone voice.

"Good, living your dream as a hobby. Well than, that's it for today. Meet me tomorrow at training ground 7 at 6 o'Clock. Don't eat, because you'll lose it again anyway. See ya!" Kaka-nii shunshins away.

Sakura gets up. "Well, I guess we should leave. Wanna come with me, Sasuke?"

"No, there is something I need to do." He looks at Sakura and sees she's ready to say she'd gladly join, even without knowing what he needed to do. "Alone." Sasuke adds.

"Oh... Okay, another time than." Sakura says with disappointment in her voice. With that, Sakura walks away.

"Well, I'll leave you at it then." I say and I move to shunshin to my home.

"Wait, Naruto. D-did y-you..." Sasuke starts. "Did I... what, Sasuke?" I look back at Sasuke with a blanc stare. Knowing what he's getting at, I tilt my head slightly sideways and give him a curious look. Just as I thought, Sasuke turns a tinge red. "D-did you mean what you said in class.. About... w-wanting to continue..?" Sasuke stutters.

I give Sasuke a smile, but in an emotionless voice I say. "Of course I did, but I should say this. It won't be a relationship, just physical. Besides, in the first place, we need to be team members. We are friends, but I would never trust anyone with my heart. Not ever."

Sasuke looks at me for a while. "Fine, just friends." I step closer to Sasuke, closing the space between us. "Wanna continue now?" Sasuke turns red beyond measure.

"N-no, that's... I mean... Maybe..? I don't know?" I smile. "It's fine, Sasuke, let me know when you want to, I'll be around." I give him a wink and shunshin to my home.

 **You're going to hurt him.** _Maybe._ **He'll be heartbroken.** _Maybe._ **Just friends** **might** **not be an option for him.** _Maybe._ **Do you want him to hurt?** _Maybe..._ **Do you want him to hurt you?** _Maybe..?_ **Just being friends is an option for you?** _...Maybe..?_ **Could** **you stop with the maybe?** _... Maybe..._ **Kit, really? I'm trying to help and be supportive over here!** _... Maybe..._ **Alright, fine, if you need me, I'll be back here, not caring!** Kurama pulls his presence away from my mind as I snigger at him. Yeah, he hit the right spot though. I do like Sasuke. But... I don't like being hurt...

The next day I'm at the training ground at 6 o'Clock. I know Kaka-nii will be late, so I start meditating. I sit down in a comfortable position and focus on my surroundings, taking it all in and seeing everything. Slowly I start to close my eyes to prepare to calm my mind. Before I really get started though, I feel Sasuke and Sakura looking at me from a distance as they make their way towards me. Once they are close, I pad the ground next to me. "Come, sit and enjoy the morning. I'm going to meditate for a few hours. Here's some food. I know neither of you ate, but having some food in you and risk the possibility of throwing up is better then running on no energy." **Hypocrite!** I get a weird look from both of them as I say this in a equally emotionless voice and face. My eyes are closed before I finish speaking.

I feel everything around me, every plant, every animal, every insect. Accepting everything around me and staying aware of everything, I banish all thoughts that are negative or unwanted to me. In my mind, I pull myself into the environment I made for Kurama. It first resembles an opalescent version of hills covered in a lush forest, tiny dots of shifting colours against a dark background. On the highest hill is a mansion with big windows all around. As I focus more on the image, the darkness focuses into a star strewn night sky and the dots of shifting colours become more solid before settling into a steady, brightly coloured forest.

Ever since I've made this version of my mindscape, Kurama has been a fox the size of a lion, instead of the immense version he was in the sewers. The house is fully equipped to respond to any of Kurama's wants and needs. It is in my mind after all, so if Kurama walks up to a door and he wants through, the door will automatically open. He wants a certain dish of food, it will appear where he wants it. Everything he wants or needs is taken care of by the house.

I walk into the mansion and meet with Kurama, who is in the living room. I snuggle into his fur and just relax against him while he hugs me back. After what could be 10 minutes or 10 hours, I feel a new energy approach the training ground. _Time is weird in meditation... I can never really get used to it. I guess it's time to return to reality._ **Good luck, kit, see ya later!**

As I open my eyes, I see the food containers are empty and the sun is almost at its highest, meaning we've been waiting until 11 o'clock before Kaka-nii finally shows up. Sakura and Sasuke are still sitting next to me, quietly talking. They haven't noticed I've stopped meditating. Kaka-nii is in the tree trying to hide his presence. "Kakashi-sensei, you're late." I say in a low, cold voice. Sasuke and Sakura look up at me in surprise and Kaka-nii jumps down the tree. "So, Naru-chan, you noticed me, huh. Good job. We'll be doing a test today, to see if you have what it takes to become genin." _Called it!_

"What? But we graduated from the academy! What kind of test is there left?" Sakura asks in a loud voice.

"Well, pinky, as your new sensei I want to see what you can do before I accept you as my students. If you don't meet my requirement, you will be going back to the academy!"

"Hn.. so what do we do?"

"Simple, get these bells from me, go all out. Start when I say go." Kaka-nii says as he pulls out 2 bells. I immediately start hiding my presence and seem to disappear. Sasuke notices me, so I give a quick, teasing wave before I disappear completely.

"Start!" Kaka-nii yells.

I make a Kage Bunshin and send him to find Sasuke and Sakura, who are trying to hide, but are not really succeeding. My clone finds Sakura first. She has hidden her chakra signature well, but she's really not blending into the surroundings. Sakura wants us to find Sasuke and the try to get the bells together. "What about the 2 bells? One of us will fail, even if we work together." I say with a bored expression. "Well, then we'll need to meet up, all 3 of us, and then decide together what the best choice." _That's surspising! I'd expect her to screech something about wanting to be alone with her Sasuke-kun in a team._ We go to find Sasuke, he's trying to hide. He blends in well with his surroundings, but his chakra signature is all over the place.

"What do you think, Sasuke?" Sakura asks, after explaining her thoughts about the situation. "We'll get the bells together. When Kakashi-sensei asks who passes, we'll tell him it was a team efford and that we should all pass." Sasuke says.

"That's a pretty good idea, right, Naruto?" Sakura responds.

"Fine, let's do this, I'll distract him by being visible and in his face. Sakura, you keep his attention by being irratic with your chakra, making it obvious where you are, but make it seem like you're hiding. Sasuke, get to the tree, and hide. Wait for my signal, then grab the bells." I say I a monotone voice.

"Won't Kakashi-sensei be looking for me to?" Sasuke asks. _Hmm, he's just going to listen to me? Did not see that coming!_ "No, I'm a Kage Bunshin, so I'll stay here, imitating your chakra signature. The real me will distract Kakashi-sensei." "Hn." Okay, let's go!"

I feel my Kage Bunshin imitating Sasuke's chakra signature and Sakura's chakra start to give of strange spikes. I can see that Kaka-nii notices to change in Sakura, but it doesn't look like he notices Sasuke's change as well. I jump down from the tree I've been hiding in silently and I stand behind Kaka-nii. He's still focused on his book. I lean towards his ear and with a growing voice I whisper into his ears. "Hi."

Kaka-nii almost jumps out of his skin as he jumps up and turns to look at me. "How long have you been here?" I just give him a wicked smile as I grab my sword and slowly pull it out of its sheet. Kaka-nii grabs a kunai and we start a sparring match. I can keep up well enough as I'm not using everything I've got and I dictate our movement around the tree. When I notice Sasuke is ready to move to the tree, I push my sword towards Kaka-nii with great strength, throwing him backwards into the woods near Sakura. As I thought, he goes for Sakura, placing a Genjutsu on her. Sasuke is at the tree by now. He is hiding well. Kaka-nii comes at me out of the forest. Again I start to dictate our movement and force Kaka-nii slowly towards the tree. When we are a there, I give another powerful push and Kaka-nii slams into the tree. I immediately pin him down and yell. "Now!" Sasuke makes a grab for the bells and manages to grab them both.

"Nice job, guys!" Sakura yells from the forest edge.

"How are you not still out?" Kaka-nii asks.

"I left a Kage Bunshin in the forest to mimic Sasuke. The Bunshin got Sakura out of the Genjutsu. Sakura and I distracted you so Sasuke could go to the tree unnoticed. Then I directed you towards the tree so he could grab the bells." I tell Kaka-nii like I'm debriefing a mission report to the Hokage.

"Okey, but there are 2 bells. Who gets the second one, Sasuke?"

"We all got to bells. It was a team efford and we should succeed as a team." Sasuke says.

"Well then, since you're the only one with bells on your hand, I can only say... You all pass!" Says Kaka-nii while smiling. "Meet me tomorrow again, same time, same place!" After that he shunshins away.

"Nice, we did it! Let's go celebrate, guys!" Sakura exclaims happily.

"I'm going to get ramen." I say with a yawn as I walk away. Sasuke and Sakura follow me.


	5. Questions, answers and Sasuke

After a whole week of boring D-rank missions it's finally Saturday. Shikamaru was kind enough to remind me of the semi-promise I made. So, here I am, sitting in a barbecue diner, surrounded by the 8 others that graduated with me. Also, for some reason, Neji, Tenten and Lee have joint the group. There is a strange sort of silence in the group. Everybody is staring at me. I sit there in silence, an emotionless expression on my face. **So what are you gonna do, kit?** _Answer honestly, but without actually giving information._ **Well, good luck with that! I'm going to sleep.** _Of course you are. What else would you do?_ I yawn widely, still ignoring pretty much everybody.

"Hey, don't space out like that! We're all here for you!" Sakura says. The others agree with nods.

Focusing back into reality by blinking quickly a couple of times, I turn my attention to Shikamaru. "Have at me, then." My voice is matching my face perfectly. I see everybody except Sakura and Sasuke shiver slightly, not having seen me like this before and not expecting such a cold voice. Most look surprised at my cold and emotionless demeanor. Shikamaru, who obviously has heard about my sudden changes from Sasuke, also doesn't look surprised.

At that moment, a lady walks up to our table to take our orders. She doesn't even look at me and walks away with the orders from the others. Choji notices this. "She didn't get your order." He comments.

"No, she did not." I answer dryly

"She didn't even look at you!" He exclaims.

"No, she did not." I answer again.

"Did she even realise you are here?"

"No, she did not." I answer yet again.

After a couple more seconds of silence and stares at me, Shikamaru clears his throat. "Well, first thing we would like to know is why you have a hitai-ate. Everybody has seen you leave without one the day of graduation, but the next day you show up with one. An old and battered looking one at that. We're supposed to get new ones, and earn marks on it over time."

"The hitai-ate is mine, as are the marks on it. As to why I received mine after failing the tests at the academy, that has been classified by the Hokage. Two questions left." A silence follows my words. I get a small nod from Shikamaru, who seems to accept the answer without expecting more. Sasuke is still just staring at me. Sakura is looking between me and Sasuke, to see if there is any kind of reaction. The rest is looking surprised that Shikamaru isn't pressing the issue for a clearer answer.

"Okay, the second question is this. What happened to the overly happy, overly loud, overly excited, dead-last boy we've had classes with for the past year and is this emotionless attitude the real you?" Shikamaru asks as his second question. "Two-part question? Fine, then. It was an act. A loud personality is the best way to hide one's true self. And no, it is not. One question left."

What I said did not seem to register all to well with Sakura. "Nobody can pretend to be as happy as you have the last year. Not for a whole year! You always smile and have fun!" I tilt my head slightly at her, earning a faint blush from Sasuke. _Really, Sasuke?_ **Guess he's in love with you, kit.** Then I slowly rise my hands and put them behind my head. As my hands rise, I put on my smile and take on a relaxed, lightly backwards leaning attitude. I keep the pose for a couple of seconds before I say with my practiced happy voice "Sakura-chan! Don't be like that!" Dropping my hands, I return to my emotionless face and straighten my back. The sudden change of my you personally and back again shocks everybody. In a cold voice I continue. "Smiles and happiness aren't that hard to act out, but tell me, Sakura-chan, have you ever heard me laugh? Have you ever truly looked at me between my loud outbursts and boredom? Did you read between the lines, see the possibilities behind the possibilities? Shikamaru noticed, as did Sasuke. I'm sure others have noticed as well, otherwise you wouldn't all be here. Assuming someone is happy-go-lucky because all you want to see is their most prominently shown emotion is shallow. One question left." At the last words I turn back to Shikamaru.

"That one time in class where Iruke-sensei called you out to calm down, you said you hadn't slept in weeks and hadn't eaten in days. There was something else Iruke-sensei asked. You also answered that with a time duration, what was it? 3 weeks, 4 day, 6 hours, something like that. What did Iruke-sensei mean with that question and how come you reacted so strongly the way you did to the phrase 'Control and discipline, take time!'?"

"Another two-part question? I'm afraid this time, you will have to select one of the two."

Shikamaru seems to ponder over the questions for a few seconds. "Then let me change the question. The first time I saw you enter class, I had a strong feeling of having met you before, but I couldn't place it. After you spoke, though, that feeling was gone quickly. Knowing now that the way you acted was, in fact, an act, I can't help but wonder, have we met before? I mean, has anyone of us met you before you started the academy?"

"I have met and interacted on numerous occasions with each one of you. But don't think too much about not remembering it. I'm not a very memorable person if I don't want to be." Again, a silence follows my words. I can see everybody trying to remember me from before the academy, but since they would not have seen my face, but instead my mask, nobody is able to remember.

"So, the hitai-ate is yours, including the marks on it, but you cannot tell us why you graduated. The personality we've seen at the academy was an act, but so is this emotionless personality you show us now and you have met and interacted with everybody here before attending the academy." Shikamaru concludes, while the food is brought to our table.

"Yes. Since that were all the questions, I'll take my leave now." I say while moving to get up.

"I thought we were going to eat together, all of us. You can have some of mine since your order wasn't taken." Ino says with slight hope in her voice, holding out her plate to me.

"I do not want food right now." **Just take some, kit!** _Weren't you asleep?_

"Well, you'll need to eat at some point today, you might as well eat with us now! You can have some of mine as well. I think I might have ordered to much anyways. But if you really don't want to eat, at least stay for the company." Choji says.

"Naruto..." Sasuke draws my attention to him. "When is the last time you actually ate something?" He asks with a slight tinge of worry in his voice that would go unnoticed by most. Sakura gives him a knowing look.

" I don't know. Hmm... I don't really remember. Must at least be a couple of days ago." He looks at me for a while. "Fine, have some of mine as well." He grabs a empty plate from the table next to ours where nobody is seated and puts food on the plate, before giving the plate to Sakura. Sakura also puts some food on it and passes it to Choji. This continues until everybody has put some food on the plate. They place the plate full of food in front of me and they seem eager for me to start eating. _O my Kami! Even the smell gets my nauseous_ _!_ **You** **best not refuse this, kit. They are actually sharing food with you!** Kurama growls in the back of my mind. I take a deep breath that comes off as a sigh, before picking up the chopsticks and taking a few bites.

After seeing me take a few bites everybody starts to eat and chat. I take another deep breath, while waiting for the nausea to die down a bit, before continuing to eat. Sasuke, who has been watching me the entire time we've been here, notices the short pause, but doesn't comment.

After a while, the conversation turns to birthdays for some reason. I have finished my food already, opting to eat fast in stead of running the risk of getting nauseous again by eating at a normal pace. I haven't really been following the conversations going on about the table, choosing to ignore it instead of participating in it, until somebody speaks to me directly.

"So Naruto, when's your birthday, anyway? I don't think you've ever mentioned it before." Ino asks.

"I don't celebrate my birthday." I say coldly.

"O, come on, tell us!" Ino looks at me with enthusiasm. "Than we can celebrate it together!"

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? You're part of this group, aren't you? The Rookie 12 of Konoha!"

I look at Ino for a few seconds. _Why does she care? Why include me?_ **Kit, I've told you before, and I'll** **say** **it again.** **Maybe** **just trusting them a little will do you good.** _Since when do you trust humans?_ **Listen, kit, if we continue to distrust because that's what we've always done, then how are we better** **than** **the adults that judge us? Make friends, kit, it'll do you good. Besides, these kids don't know about me or your parents.** With a sigh I say. "It's the 10th of October."

Some get what I mean, paling a bit at the insinuation that it was the same day as the Kyuubi attack. Others... Well, others not so much. "Hey, nice! That means the Kyuubi festival is on your birthday! We should go into town together!" Kiba barks.

"That's in like 2 weeks from now! Why don't we go to dinner again then! What's yours favourite food?" Asks Choji, seeing an opportunity to eat out again.

"Seriously?" Kiba barks before I can even open my mouth. "Practically the only thing Naruto ever eats is ramen!"

"I don't particularly like ramen. It was more of a convenience and availability thing that led me to eat so much of it." I interject into the conversation in a small but clearly audible voice. "And I don't particulairly care to celebrate a day like my birthday. It is the same day as my parents died, along with a lot of others from the village." I add in a stronger, colder voice.

There was a silence, again, following my words. Sasuke is the first to speak up. "We'll see what we'll do then, okay, Naruto?" Sasuke says. His voice carrying an unmistakable tone of care and consideration to me, but it is consealed under a layer of placidness that most others will hear.

"Fine." I answer shortly. The rest of the group seem to settle for this answer and the conversations start up again. Sasuke, however, is still looking at me. _I_ _might_ _have a fanboy..._ **Whahahaha, oh, please tell him that to his face! I can't wait to see the look on his face when you compare him to Sakura and Ino!**

After a while I've had quite enough of everything. _Can I go home_ _now_ _, Kurama?_ I whine at the giant ball of furry chakra stuck in my gut. **Fine with me, kit!** I get up from my seat. "Thank you for the food. All of you." I say genuinely with a small bow, before I walk out of the restaurant. "Have a good night."

Before I'm even out of the restaurant, however, Sasuke had caught up with me. He keeps walking next to me in silence as I make my way home. We walk for 10 minutes in silence before I decide to break it. "Why are you following me?"

"I wanted to walk you home?"

"Is that a question?"

"Well, no and yes, I wanted to walk home with you and I'm asking you if it's alright."

"It's fine, I guess."

There is a silence again as we keep walking.

"You said you wanted to continue, but that it would only be a physical thing. That the team is more important. That we can only be just friends. Is there really no chance for something... more..?" There is a tinge of doubt in his voice. I stop walking. Sasuke stops a few steps further, then turns around to me. "You're walking me home to ask if I am serious about not wanting a relationship?" I ask in an emotionless voice.

"Yes." Sasuke replies.

"So you like me?"

"Yes."

"And you want more than a physical fling?"

"Yes."

"Are you in love with me, then?"

"Yes." Sasuke replies as a small blush appears on his cheeks. _Cute_ _..._

"Since when?"

"Since when what?"

"Since when have you been in love with me?" I ask with a slight sigh.

"W-well, it was... I mean, I think it's since the first time saw you? I-I mean, you were loud and a bit stupid, but I really liked the way you moved and looked. It was so different from anybody else and there seemed to be a lot more to you. I've never really felt this way towards anyone and for the last year this hasn't changed." Sasuke sounds unsure at the beginning, but quickly turns back to the normal Uchiha certainty.

"What about our team? A relationship within a team can cause a lot of trouble. We do, or at least, are going to place ourselves in mortal danger to complete missions. Being in a relationship with a team member can lead to biased decisions that endanger the team. It wouldn't be the first time something like that would happen."

Sasuke is silent at that. I start to walk again. Sasuke is quick to catch up an walk next to me again. "Then I'll talk to Kakashi about his stand on relationships within the team."

"I didn't say I wanted a relationship, though."

"You didn't say you didn't want it either."

After a few more minutes of silent walking we are at my apartment. I'm standing with my back to my door and Sasuke is looking awed at the intricate drawings around it. "Did you make those?" He asks with a slight awe in the his voice.

"Yes, these are seals and jutsu's to keep me safe. Nobody can enter my home without my permission. The last person to try still isn't breathing on his own." I say with a low growl in my voice.

"I recognise a few, a silencing seal." He points at one of them. "And a binding seal. How many are there?"

"Out here? Probably around 20. Inside the door and at the windows another 30. Most of them serve as a warning system."

"For who?"

"The original intent was for me, to alert me to unwanted visitors, but now it is as much for the one trying to enter as it is for me." I see Sasuke is staring at my lips as I'm talking. I throw him a small smile as I lean a bit back against the door and wait for what he'll do. _Interesting. Let's see if he has the guts to_ _make_ _the first move._ After a few seconds, he blinks and turns a bit red, realising he was staring. But there is a certain determination on his face. "I will win you over, Uzumaki Naruto." He breathes in a whisper as he steps towards me and catches my lips in a kiss.

At first I don't respond, waiting for Sasuke to take initiative. His hand slides into my hair and his other hand slides behind my back, pulling me towards him. He starts licking at my bottom lip, asking, no, demanding access. When I don't give in immediately, I feel Sasuke's hand in my hair tighten slightly as he pulls it a bit. I give him the response he wants and open my mouth to him with a small gasp. He eagerly explores it as he moans into the kiss and presses his whole body against me, pushing me against the door. I give him a little bit of fight and a lot of response to his every move, letting out soft moans and trailing my hands through his hair. After a while, Sasuke breaks the kiss to catch his breath, his cute red face not even inches from mine, as our foreheads are still touching. After catching his breath, he moves away a bit. "See you Monday." He says with a gruff voice before he turns around and walks away. I look at him until he's out of sight. He doesn't look back. Then I enter my house.

 **That was quite** **something** **. I never thought you'd be the** **uke** **...** _Shut up,_ _furball_ _._ I drop down on my couch and fall asleep immediately. I sleep through the whole night. Kami, it's nice to finally have a full night's sleep. The next day I spent training and on Monday we meet up at the Hokage's office.

"Team 7, we have prepared a list of several D-ranked missions for you for the upcoming week." The Hokage starts.

"Hokage-sama, if I may." I interrupt in an emotionless voice. "Keeping in mind the agreement we've had for the last year, I would like to propose to keep this agreement for the foreseeable future by giving us missions in which I get what we agreed upon, but it's also not endangering to the rest of the team. I'm sure you have some kind of mission that would work with this."

The Hokage looked at me for a second. "Agreed. Here is a C-ranked mission for you. You are to escort the master bridge builder Tazuna to his home in Nami no Kuni. You will stay with him until he completes the bridge that is being built. Please enter, Tazuna."

A drunken man stumbled into the room, holding a half empty bottle. "What? Kids?" Tazuna slurred. "How's that gonna help? And you, blondy, why's a beautiful girl like you even a ninja?" I turn to Tazuna and give him a cute and seductive smile, and sway my hips to one side. I've done enough seduction missions with Anko-nee to know how to press buttons, in seduction as well as in terrifying people. "My, Tazuna-san, you're the master bridge builder, right? You must be amazing!" My voice is dripping with sweetness as I let my eyes wander over him, causing a small blush to form on Tazuna's face. "I should warn you, though, the last person to call me beautiful ended up losing his most important part." I purr at him while winking. As what I said sinks in, he gulps and takes a step back. I see Sasuke throw me a jealous look. "No offense, pretty!" Says Tazuna.

"Tazuna-san, before you continue, Naru-chan here is very much a boy." Kaka-nii says, making everybody in the room sweat drop.

"You calling me 'chan' isn't really helping your point, Kakashi-sensei." I point out in a cold voice and my face back to an emotionless expression. "But he is right, I am male." I say inclining my head towards Tazuna.

"What are you, bipolar?" Tazuna asks, looking confused. "How do you switch from cute and girly to cold and emotionless in a mere second?"

I tilt my head to the side. "Bipolar? No, but I do know how to play my role as it needs to be." My voice is still cold.

"Great! Now that we have been introduced a bit, why don't we meet at the main gate in one hour? Pack for a week. See you there!" Kaka-nii cuts off any further conversation and shunshins away. I nod and follow his example. In stead of going home, however, I shunshin to the gates and wait for the rest to show up. Everything I need is already sealed away on me anyway. I settle on the branch of a nearby tree and decide to meditate, since I should have about an hour.

After half an hour, though, I feel Sasuke approaching me. He noticed me sitting in the tree and he jumps up to me. He sits in front of me, but he doesn't say anything. I can tell he wants to, though. _Is he respecting my meditation? Unexpected. Maybe I didn't profile him right at the academy._ **I think your profile was spot on, kit. But you didn't account for the boy having a crush on you. People act differently when in love.** _Interesting... I should learn more about that to complete my profiling skills._ **I doubt you can profile behavioural changes when someone's in love.** Kurama chuckles as I open my eyes. "Hello, Sasuke."

Sasuke is slightly startled as I speak. He didn't expect me to leave my meditation so soon. "Hi." He says.

"Anything you needed from me?"

"What was that in the Hokage's office, with that smile you gave Tazuna?" He asks with annoyance in his voice.

"Why do you care?"

"I should care, shouldn't I? And if you are going to act cute that way, at least act that cute towards me!"

"We are not in a relationship, Sasuke, so it shouldn't bother you."

"Well, it does." Sasuke glares at me a while.

"Sasuke, I would have thought you wouldn't be interested in an act. I would have hoped you could see through that by now. After all, I've shown you more of who I really am then I have to anybody else. But if you really want me to act flirty and seductive towards you, you'd only need ask. For you I would comply." I lean a bit closer to him as I talk. Sasuke's expression changes from a glare to slight shame.

Sasuke sighs. "You're right. I don't want an act. I'm sorry. I just felt jealous at the look you were giving him. I wouldn't mind receiving such a look from you. I'll make sure I'll get you to look at me like that, but I will make sure it will be genuine." He says with Uchiha certainty.

"Why are you so insistent with me? I already told you my stand point in this issue."

"Yes, you did. You never did say, however, that you weren't interested in a relationship. You just told me reasons to not have a relationship, be it with me or someone else within the team. It's also not a written rule that teammates cannot have relationships. With enough team training, it also shouldn't be too much of an issue in dangerous situations. Also, neither you or I am leader of our team, meaning any discisions will not be made by either of us, pushing the issue of endangering the team due to biased opinion out of our way."

I look at Sasuke and blink. "How long did it take you to come up with that?"

"I... Kinda spend the rest of the weekend thinking about it..." He trails off at the end of his sentence. "I also wanted to ask you." He moves towards me slightly. "Why did you let me take the lead on the kiss Saturday? I also felt as though you let me do what I wanted with our first kiss."

"You don't like taking control? You are good at it." I say with an even tone.

With a slight blush Sasuke says. "No, I like it. I guess I didn't expect it from you. You seem on guard in everything, but when we kiss, I control it. It seems... Contradictory."

"Like I said before, I've shown you more of who I really am then I have to anybody else." I say with a small genuine smile.

"Well, I like it." Sasuke says before leaning closer and kissing me again, his hand disappearing into my hair.

We're still locked into our kiss as Tazuna arrives. He notices us but ignored us, turning his back to us. A couple of seconds later Sakura and Kaka-nii show up at the same time. By now Sasuke has moved forward, leaning over me, pushing me back untill my back is against the tree trunk.

Kaka-nii clears his throat. "If you don't mind, boys, we have a mission to start." Sasuke breaks the kiss and turns red. _Guess he didn't notice our audience._ "You two will also need to explain the nature of this relationship to me once we are back." Kaka-nii adds. Sakura is having a nosebleed off to the side, letting out small giggles. Sasuke nods at Kaka-nii and then jumps down. I follow after him and we take off for our mission.


	6. C-ranked

Walking at the civilian's pace, the trip to Nami no Kuni should take two days. Sakura is making light conversation with Tazuna as she walks on his right. I'm walking to his left, with Sasuke in front of us and Kaka-nii behind us. We've had a few breaks and now it is almost time to make camp for the night.

"There will be a clearing about fifteen minutes walk from here. We'll make camp there." Kaka-nii informs us. As we walk further, I notice two presences trying to hide. I let myself fall behind to walk next to Kaka-nii. "I know you know." I start in my usual cold voice. "I want it."

"Fine, but I want to see how the other two react first." I nod and move back to my place in our little guard. Soon we cross paths with a puddle of water. Sasuke and Sakura ignore it, I walk past it as well and Kaka-nii slows down a bit, leaving more room between us and him as he walks by. As soon as he passes as well, two ninja jump up from the puddle and engulf Kaka-nii in chains, cutting through him instantly. The two ninja laugh at the shocked looks of Tazuna, Sasuke and Sakura. Before long, however, Sasuke and Sakura jump up to protect Tazuna, ready to fight. I act like I'm frozen in fear, looking around wide eyed.

"Well, well, looks like the genin have some fight in them, Gōzu."

"Yes, I think we can have some fun with them, Meizu!"

Gōzu swiftly move towards Tazuna. Sakura, though scared, stands her ground and catches the attack with her kunai. Sasuke assists her by kicking Gōzu back towards his brother. Sasuke tries to maintain his position in between Sakura and the attacking ninja as Sakura tries to stay between Sasuke and Tazuna, effectively shielding him from harm.

"Seen enough, Kakashi-sensei?" I say in a loud voice.

"Yes, this will do, Naru-chan. Have fun!" Kaka-nii responds as he comes out of his hiding spot and walks over to the group of three. Kaka-nii receives five surprised looks and one cold one as he walks back into view.

"Then go!" I tell them in a cold voice as my hand reaches for my sword. I tune the others out immediately, trusting Kaka-nii to get them away from me. I dash at the Demon brothers. They did not expect this kind of speed from me, but they recover quickly and Gōzu blocks my first strike, which was directed at his throat. Meizu moves behind me, trying to create an opening by dividing my attention into opposite fronts. They dive at me at the same time, their claws aiming at my lower back and my heart respectively. Realising I can't dodge, I quickly use a Kawarimi no Jutsu to get a few feet away from them, landing in a position enabling me to launch another attack immediately. Again I go for Gōzu, this time his left shoulder. My sword connects with his shoulder, making a much more shallow cut then I had hoped as he manages to jump away. But it bleeds anyway. The sight of blood triggers my lust for it. _More_. I begin a series of quick hits and stabs at Gōzu, drawing more and more blood and making sure that each cut hurts. _Make it rain._ With each cut I feel blood splatter against me. _Cut._ Gōzu is unable to dodge or block any of my strikes. Meizu tries to hit me, and although I take several hits, it seems to the Demon brothers that I don't even feel them. _Pain_ _._ Still focusing all my attention on Gōzu, I finally manage to cut his arm and leg in such a way he won't be able to use them or continue to fight. _Show me_ _fear_ _._ Meizu is in a frenzy over seeing his brother cut down, and starts a series of incoherent slashes and thrusts. I avoid and block them like we are locked in a bladed dance. Then I realise there is a third presence. I can't tell who it is, but they will die. _Scream_ _for_ _me._ I start to counter Meizu, ending him with a deep slash from right shoulder to left hip. _Die._ In a silent scream he crumbles to the ground, not 10 feet away from his brother. He will never move again. I hear Gōzu scream in anger as I launch myself at the third presence with a fierce growl.

Something is screaming in the back of my mind for me to stop, but I ignore it. _I want blood_.

As if acknowledging the voice in the back of my head I hear Kurama yell. **KIT! STOP! NOW!** Never before has Kurama ever told me to stop an attack or commanded me with such force and conviction. I stop my movement instantly, sword barely pressed against the skin of the neck of the third presence, making a small cut that causes a small trickle of blood to run down. The force of my movement causes a wind to follow me. It sweeps my hair and clothing forward and pushes the hair and clothing of the person in front of me backwards. There is a long silence as the adrenaline from the fight starts to subside. My breathing is irregular and panting. My heart is beating fast in my chest.

Slowly I focus back into my surroundings. This time, there is no crushing silence of death around me, there is no feeling of coming undone, no fear swallowing me whole. There is no need to seek out Kurama to save me. There is no low point in which I subconsciously injure myself. All I see is a pair of beautiful onyx eyes, looking at me in shock, but without fear, without any negative emotions towards me.

I drop my sword before I let myself fall back, flat on my ass on the ground, with my hands on the ground behind me. There is a numbness in my hands and feet I don't understand. All the while I keep eye contact with those onyx eyes. My breathing is still irregular, but slowly regains the normal pace. My heart skips a beat as I look into those eyes, and then proceeds to slow down as well.

After a moment of silence I start to feel a bit weird. _Something's wrong!_ There is no response from Kurama. _Kurama!_ I'm still looking at those eyes, but they look different, worried. I feel a shiver run down my spine when the eyes suddenly swoop towards me. I feel a hand land softly on my cheek. The feeling makes me chuckle. The eye furrow in worry as my chuckle turns into a laugh.

"...-ruto, can you hear me?" It feel like my ears popped and I'm suddenly able to hear again. Wait, wasn't I able to? The sound of the voice makes me blink a few times and then I start laughing even harder.

My laugh turns so intense I let myself fall onto my back, turning to my side to grasp my sides at the intensity of the laughter increases even further. "Hey dobe, get a grip! Can you hear me?"

I look up at him from the side. The look on his face makes me stop laughing for a second, before it comes back full force, leaving me gasping for air. "Hn, what's so funny?"

"Whahahaha, Y-your face! Whahahaha, I-I c-can't, whahahaha, s-s-stop hahaha. Whahahaha. C-can't b-breath." I stutter between laughing and gasps for air.

I feel another person behind me, gently placing his large hands on my back, turning me towards him. "Kaka-nii!" I yell out gleefully as soon as I'm able to focus on his face, before launching myself at him in a hug, my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, still a laughing mess.

"What's wrong with him?" I hear Sasuke ask as my laughing intensifies even more. Kaka-nii had wrapped one arm around me, trying to hold me steady as I laugh into his shoulder.

"There was probably some kind of poison on the weapons of the Demon Brothers." Kaka-nii answers calmly. "He'll be fine. It will take some time, though." Somewhere deep in the back of my mind I hear Kurama mumble. **Poison, it'll take me some time to get rid of it..**.

"Poison?" I hear Sakura ask in surprise. "Shouldn't that hurt? Why is he laughing?"

"If you get poisoned enough times, your body will start to react differently to the poison, though I've never seen this kind of reaction before." Kaka-nii explains. As I catch sight of Sasuke's face again, the look on his face, worry mostly, sends me into an even bigger laughing fit, stealing the little breath I had from me. I feel panic setting in, clenching my fists into Kaka-nii's shirt. I really can't breath anymore. Black and white dots are starting to appear in my line of sight as my line of sight quickly narrows. Not soon after, I pass out...

... When I open my eyes again, I see the dying embers of a fire, meaning I must have been out for at least a couple of hours. I'm on my side, facing what's left of the fire. I turn to my back, a moan escaping my lips as the stiffness of my muscles protests against me moving. Immediately, a wave of nausea comes over me. I quickly turn onto my elbows and knees as I retch before emptying my stomach. I'm breathing hard from exhaustion as I feel two hands grab me by the shoulders from behind and pull me backwards into a sitting position. Luckily before I lost my strength. _I would have face planted right into my own filth_. Sasuke moves around me and is hovering over me, his hand landing on my cheek again. His thumb slowly rubbing my cheek a bit. I halve close my eyes to the soft touch of his hands and press slightly against it, letting out another moan, this time of contentment. "You'll be okay." He whispers softly as he gives me some water. "Here, rinse your mouth, drink something and then just go back to sleep. I'll keep watch." I nod into his hand as I do as he says before falling asleep again.

I wake up at the first light of dawn. I turn from facing the fire to my other side. As I turn I feel myself bump into something soft and warm. Pulling my legs up a bit, I'm basically curled around it. Then I open my eyes and look up. Sasuke is looking back down at me. He was sitting next to me with this back towards me. He's looking a bit tired and a lot worried. _Was he up all night?_ "Hi." I say.

"Hey." I get as an answer. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit stiff, but I'm okay, I guess." I move to sit up. As I do, a wave of dizziness comes over me. I feel Sasuke's hands land on my shoulders to keep me steady as I shake my head. After blinking a few times, the dizziness fades. I look around the campsite. Sakura and Tazuna are still asleep on the other side of the fire pit. Kaka-nii is a little further away, keeping watch. Gōzu is tied to a tree nearby, his wounds dressed with the bare minimum to keep him alive, but not... functional.

"Are you really okay?" Sasuke asks again. I nod. Kaka-nii notices that I'm up and quickly joins us. "Are you okay, Naru-chan?"

"I'll be fine, Kaka-nii." I see a flicker of satisfaction in Kaka-nii's eyes as I realise I just called him Kaka-nii. I give him a scowl. "You're eating something." Kaka-nii states. "I'm serious, Naru-chan, I'm not giving you a choice." He adds when he sees I'm pushing the back of my hand to my mouth and closing my eyes at the thought of food. "After yesterday you need to eat at least something!" Sasuke gives a nod of agreement at Kaka-nii's words.

Kaka-nii gets up, picks up a bowl and scoops some food in it from the pot over the firepit. "This is leftover stew from yesterday. It should be easy enough to keep down for you. There's no meat in it." Kaka-nii hands me the bowl and a spoon and I reluctantly take it. When I don't start eating, Kaka-nii gives me a look. "If you don't eat yourself, I'll tie you up next to Gōzu over there and have Sasuke feed you. I know you don't have the strength right now to do anything about it." I shoot Kaka-nii a dirty look. Kaka-nii gives me a stern look back. I sigh and start to eat.

After I finish, I lie back down. _Why am I still down? Are you alright, Kurama?_ **Yeah, kit, just a little exhausted. I've healed most of your wounds, but there's still some poison in your system. I can't help you any more. I'm almost out of chakra. Just don't move too much, you should be able to get rid of the rest on your own in half a day or so. Next time, at least try to dodge a few hits...** I sigh and try to relax.

About 15 minutes later Kaka-nii wakes up Sakura and Tazuna. Everybody is busy packing as I sit up and try to steady myself. I'm still dizzy when I move. I watch as everybody finishes their packing and Kaka-nii handing Gōzu over to his nin-dogs, but I'm not really registering anything. It all seems far away. Sasuke has picked up my sleeping bag and packed it with his stuff. "Alright, everybody ready? It will be a two hour walk, then there will be a three hour boat ride. We'll then be in Nami no Kuni and have a short walk to Tazuna's house." Kaka-nii says. At that, I stand up. The world spins around me and before I realise, I'm sitting on the ground again, shaking my head to get rid of the dizziness. _Damn it!_ Sasuke is by my side me in a flash, holding me steady. His hand is on my cheek again. "Kakashi-sensei, he has a fever. I don't think he should be moving." The dizziness is blurring my vision and I can't focus on their voices.

"We can't stay here either to wait for him to get better and I can't be carrying him. This has become at least an A-ranked mission and if something is to happen, I need to be ready to move." Kaka-nii thinks for a second when Sakura speaks up. "Sasuke-kun, I could carry your backpack and you could carry Naruto. We'll take an extra break after an hour. It shouldn't be a problem for you since Naruto isn't that heavy." Sasuke makes an agreeable sound as he takes off his backpack and hands it to Sakura. He kneels in front of me with his back towards me and Sakura helps my onto his back before setting off. I just let it happen. It's not like I have the strength to protest. Soon the motion of walking makes me fall asleep again.

I wake up feeling confused. I don't remember anything after eating what Kaka-nii gave me. I'm on Sasuke's back with my face buried in his neck. I take a deep breath, enjoying the smell and then look up. The sun is already on its way down. "Sasuke, what..?" I start. "Hey, you're awake! We're in Nami no Kuni. We should be at Tazuna's house in less then an hour." I take a second to register what he just said. _That means I've been out for at least 5 hours again_...

"Let me down." Sasuke stops and lets my legs go. I keep hold of his shoulders untill I feel myself steady and then I take a step back. Carefully I shift my weight around, expecting dizziness. When that doesn't come, I crack my shoulder and neck, and stretch my body to get rid of the stiffness, ending with a satisfying pop of my back. _Are we good, Kurama?_ **Pretty much, yeah.** **Just some fatigue left.** I give a small nod and move to walk to the rest, who have stopped walking when they noticed Sasuke has stopped.

Before I even get the chance to take two steps, I freeze in my tracks. I look at a bush to my right. "Someone's... there?" I mumble to myself before realising something is coming our way, fast. "Get down!" Kaka-nii yells. Kaka-nii pulls Tazuna down, I pull Sasuke down and Sakura dives to the ground right when a giant sword flies over our heads and lodges into a tree. A ninja with bandages around his mouth and chin lands softly on the sword.

"Kirigakura no Kijin, Momochi Zabuza." I hear Kaka-nii say while he takes his hitai-ate off of his eye.

"Sharingan no Kakashi, Kopī ninja. Hatake Kakashi. What an honour that you would show me that eye." Zabuza states back. Sasuke's eyes widen at seeing and hearing that Kaka-nii has his family's eyes. "He's not related to you. He got the eye from a team member of him that died." I whisper to him. "Stay quiet, get to Tazuna and Sakura and protect them. I'll help Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke nods. "Are you sure you can? You've not fully recovered." Sasuke asks.

"It should be fine. I'm a bit slower maybe, and my muscles are stiff, but nothing some good movement can't solve. Go now, then." Sasuke looks at me doubtfully, but then seems to decide he trusts my judgement on my physical state. He looks at me a moment longer, gives me a quick kiss on the lips and starts moving towards Sakura and Tazuna. I turn to the fight.

"Seems like blonds do have more fun! You're gonna allow such a weakness on your team, Kakashi?" Zabuza muses as he charges at Kaka-nii, readying to cast his hidden mist technique.

"You really gonna taunt Naru-chan, Zabuza? You'll regret that. He might not look like you remember, though I thought he would at least look familiar to you. But it doesn't matter, it'll come back to you soon enough!" Kaka-nii says as he starts to read Zabuza's movements. Right when the mist seems at its highest, I grab my sword, make three Kage Bunshin that hide themselves and cut through the mist with a Fūton: Wind slash.

Kaka-nii is quick to draw Zabuza's attention to him, so I can get behind him. Zabuza starts making hand signs and Kaka-nii copies them so quickly it almost seems that he already knows what Zabuza is doing before Zabuza does. Before he can finish, I attack him from behind. He catches my sword on his, before he pushes me back several feet. I change my stance to a low crouch with my sword in my left hand, extending it away from my body. A unique kenjutsu stance only I use, perfect for my movements, taught to me by Kurama. I look up at Zabuza and I see a flicker of recognition in him as his eyes widen. "No way, w-why would...?" Amusement crosses his face.

"What's wrong, Zabuza? Thought you wouldn't see me again?" I ask in a cold voice.

"You little bastard! And here I thought Kakashi would be my biggest challenge! Why are you even on a genin team? No, wait, don't tell me. You need to make Chuunin before you can continue, right? So you're 12 years old now? I bet your face was priceless when you got sent to the academy!"

"What does it matter, Zabuza? Let's fight!"

"No, I don't think so. Not right now. I'm not taking my chances against the Kopī Ninja and the Bloody Red Fox alone. See you around, brat!" Zabuza disappears in a swirl of mist. The presence I felt lurking in the trees disappears as well. I release the Kage Bunshin and put away my sword. Kaka-nii follows my example. He trusts that with my sensory abilities I know when the enemy is really gone.

Kaka-nii and I walk to the rest of our group. After Kaka-nii gives a quick explanation as to what happened, we set forth on our way to Tazuna's house. "We should be alert. Zabuza is going to show up again and we will need to be ready. Tomorrow, we will be training. Naruto, you will be taking a days rest tomorrow. That way you can guard Tazuna and his family." He glances back at me, expecting a response. Unfortunately for me, the fatigue is really pressing on my mind and I'm not up for any type of argument so just give a small nod.

When we get to the house, we are greeted by a woman, Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami. Once inside the house, Tsunami gives us a bow. "Welcome, everybody, thank you so much for helping us. If there is anything you need, please come ask me. I've prepared rooms for you. Sakura, you will be sharing a room with me, boys, you two will have a room together. Kakashi-san, you will have a room alone. Hopefully the arrangements will do. Now, I'll get to cooking dinner. Please make yourselves at home and thank you again for helping us."

"Do not strain yourself to cook for me. I'll not be joining. Thank you anyway." I say without any emotion on my face or in my voice while I incline my head at Tsunami. I sit down on the couch, ignoring the stare I got from Tsunami and Tazuna. Sasuke sits down next to me. "You should eat. You've been through a lot and your body needs it." I ignore Sasuke as well, pull up my legs and start meditating. I hear Sasuke sigh and mumble something like "Really?"

After a while I feel a tap on my forehead. I take a deep breath and open my eyes. Sasuke is in front of me. _Of course Sasuke is in front of me_. I feel tired, irritable. "What?"

"Here." Sasuke pushes a bowl of food into my hands.

"I just said I didn't want any food." I say coldly.

"You don't want it, but you definitely need it. You look exhausted, you haven't eaten since this morning and that was barely a mouth full, and don't think I missed the fact that you were struggling to just walk the small distance here after Zabuza's attack. You haven't recovered fully yet!"

"Well, aren't you observant. Just leave me be."

"I'll keep pushing you untill you've eaten." **I agree with the boy.** **Just** **eat** **already** **, then go to bed.** _You_ _too_ _, Kurama?_ _Just_ _leave_ _me alone._ Sasuke is looking at me with fierce determination. Kurama keeps pestering in the back of my mind.

I get up and without saying anything, I make my way upstairs. I flop down on the only bed in the room. Its bigger than a single person bed, but definitely smaller than a double bed. I curl up on my side, facing the wall.

Before I'm well and settled, the door opens. I hear the clinking of a bowl with utensils in it being placed on a table and I feel the bed dip down behind me.

"I know you're awake. Talk to me. Why do you eat so little?"

I turn to Sasuke, looking at him. There is a strong urge to just tell Sasuke everything. _I don't like this. Why would I want to tell him?_ "Call it a childhood trauma. The first 3 years of my life I've had to steal food, after that I've been scavenging food. Spoiled, rotten... poisoned. People would charge me obscenely much or just downright refuse to sell to me. Not just food, everything. The thought of food makes me feel sick now." I take a deep breath. "I have no idea why I'm telling you this. I'm tired, let me sleep." I turn back to the walk wall.

Sasuke seems to think this over. "How about this. I'll bring you food, you eat it, I'll stop pushing the issue as long as you eat everything I give you, you get food you know is good and safe. Deal?"

I want to stubbornly stay quit, but Sasuke seems to break me. Maybe fix me is a more accurate description. "...No meat." I take the bowl and eat. I push the empty bowl into Sasuke's hands, lie back down facing the wall again and fall asleep feeling unusually safe with Sasuke next to me.


	7. Mellow morning

The next day I wake up feeling something warm pressed against my back. I'm still on my side facing the wall and I feel weirdly calm. _Nice and warm..._ **I'm happy you're enjoying yourselves, kit. You do realise it's the Uchiha boy sleeping next to you, don't you?** _I know... I don't mind him being this close..._ **What changed?** _I don't know. I can't bring myself to just toy with him anymore._ **I'm guessing you're in love...** _Maybe..._ **Don't you start with the 'maybe' again!** _Maybe..._ Immediately I feel Kurama pull back his presence from my mind as I softly snicker at him in my mind.

Enjoying the warmth of Sasuke next to me, I decide to just lie there for a while. After half an hour or so, the warmth next to me moves. Sasuke stretches himself with a soft moan. He had been sleeping next to me with his back to my back. As he sits up, I turn around keeping my eyes closed and curl around him, much like I did when I was poisoned. I feel a hand land on my cheek and I open my eyes to look up at Sasuke. "You look a lot better then yesterday." Sasuke says. I nod and give him a small smile. "I feel a lot better."

"Come on, let's get cleaned up and go downstairs for breakfast." Sasuke says as he grabs my hands and pulls me up from the bed. He gives me a quick kiss on the lips, before turning around and walking away.

When we get downstairs, we see the table is set for breakfast. I sit down next to Sasuke, with Sakura and Kaka-nii opposite of us. Tsunami and Tazuna sit down on the heads of the table. There is a empty seat and a bowl next to Tsunami. In the middle of the table is a pot with what smells like oat meal porridge. After everybody mumbles "thanks for the food", Sasuke grabs my bowl and puts about half a normal portion in it before filing his own bowl as well and sitting back down. Without a word from either Sasuke or me, I start eating. _He even considered that I probably can't eat full portions right away..._ Kaka-nii and Sakura stare at me in amazement. Tsunami is looking from me to my teammates, wondering why they look so shocked and Tazuna is throwing a knowing look from me to Sasuke. Seems the old fart noticed more of my weakness for Sasuke than I would have given him credit for. After a few moments, everybody starts to eat. Sakura is making small talk with our hosts, while Kaka-nii is reading his book. Sasuke and I just eat in silence, both content with the easy atmosphere.

After a while I hear foot steps upstairs coming down. A boy walks into the kitchen. It's clear he has been crying by the redness on his face and in his eyes. "Why are you even here? Is not like anyone can do anything! If you try, you'll just die!" He snaps. The atmosphere changes from easy to tense with just that sentence.

"Ninja are trained to fight until they die. It doesn't matter what the chances are as long as it's a mission from the Hokage." I reply with a cold voice.

"But why? Don't you care that you'll die? You'll just suffer, you'll just cause suffering to those around you! Or have you lived such a sheltered and peaceful life that you don't even know that people are suffering outside of your safe village!?" The boy yells at me. "Inari, you can't say that!" Tsunami says in a warning tone to Inari as I slowly stand up and walk over to the boy.

"Dying isn't the worst that can happen to someone. Suffering and the village are synonymous to me. Don't you dare tell me I don't know suffering when you don't know anything about me. I've overcome everything they threw at me. It might not have been graceful and it sure as hell wasn't easy, but at least I chose not to cry over it anymore. I chose to be strong. Despite me not even having a home I feel safe in, I keep going. I will not give in to them." I say in an eerily calm tone as my eyes flash red for a second for only Inari to see. Cold waves of killer intent radiate off of me, making Inari step back in fear. Sasuke grabs my wrist. "Come on, let's go for a walk." At Sasuke's touch, I feel my anger disappear. _At least_ _something_ _good came from that village_. I nod and let Sasuke pull me with him.

Before the door closes behind us, I hear Kaka-nii say "Please don't hold this against Naru-chan. I'll tell you a bit about him, so you'll understand..." I turn around with a growl, ready to make Kaka-nii shut the fuck up, but Sasuke grabs my arm again. "Just let him. I don't know much about your past, but I think it might help the boy with his own struggle. Besides, you told him not to judge you without knowing you, but you pretty much just did the same to him. Let's just see what he'll do before you do something you'd regret later." Again I nod and let Sasuke lead me away. _Why..? How does he do that? Kurama, I don't know if I like the way Sasuke affects me! Hell, ever since him being around me more I'm even cursing at your ass less!_ **I told you, you're in love. You probably have been for longer than you** **realise. He really has taken care of you since that first kiss. I think you might just have started to trust him.** _Trust, huh. Still, it feels weird. It's scary._

Sasuke leads me to a nearby dock and I sit down next to him looking over the water. "I'd like to hear about your past, if you want to tell me." Sasuke says. I take a deep breath. If I was going to have something with Sasuke, he'd need to hear about a lot of things about me that could ruin everything between us. But keeping it to myself and have him find out through others would be even worse. I pull up my legs and put my arms around them, my head resting on my knees. I take another deep breath. "I'll tell you some things. Not all, not right now. There are also things I'm not allowed to tell you. But I'll tell you enough to probably scare you away from me. Don't interrupt. I'll probably not have the strenght to continue if you do." I close my eyes. "But it's better if you leave knowing the truth rather then that you stay around me ignorant of what I am." I open my eyes and look at Sasuke. He looks expectantly at me and give a small nod.

"Okay, so, uhm, let's start with a quick recap of my life." I start, trying to stay calm, but I feel slightly panicked. "My parents died on the day I was born. My mother because she was forced to lose something that she couldn't live without, my father because he was protecting me and my mother from the Kyuubi. After that, I've been in an orphanage, where I had to steal food and clothing to survive. The 'mother' of the orphanage hated me and did everything to make my life hell. Her husband found out there was a way to make money off of my blood, so every week he would drain me to make money. At my third birthday, the 'mother' kicked me out. It was cold and I didn't even have shoes on, let alone a jacket. I wandered around all day. People called me demon, monster, called for me to die and suffer for what I did. I didn't know what they meant back than. When evening fell a man stumbled upon me. I thought he took pity on me, asking me if I needed a place to stay, food and warmth. He took me home and gave me some food. After that he... He... I was..."

I take another deep breath. "S-something happened. After that, he threw me out onto the streets. A group of people were waiting for me. They beat me to an inch of my life. I think at some point, I went into like a comatose or complete shock state. I met the reason why everybody seems to hate me, the reason my parents are dead and the reason I'm now still slightly sane. I hate to think about how I would have ended up without that meeting. He saved me that night. After that I started training, hard. I didn't go back to the orphanage. In stead, I taught myself to fight and survive on my own. A couple of times, the Hokage took enough interest in me to help me. He gave me a place to live, money to live off of. Still, it happened more often then not that I was hunted and beaten by the villagers. Sometimes they'd use knives and other objects. Sometimes they'd do the same to me as he did on my third birthday, but that first time was the worst time by far for me."

I feel Sasuke look at me with big eyes as I stare out over the water. "If I needed clothing, they'd overprice it, food could be spoiled, rotten or poisoned, but they'd still overcharge. I started to hate food. I started to hate everything, including myself. Before I was even four years old, I already was more than ready and willing to die. I just wanted one thing before I killed myself, and that was to kill the bastard for what he did to me on my third birthday. And I did. On my fourth birthday, I let him find me again. He smirked at me, told me I could come with him again for food and warmth at the same price as last year. I nodded at him and he carried me to his home again. I ate the food he gave me, drank the warm milk he gave me. After that he beckoned me to come to him. I did, but before he could do what he wanted to do, I pulled out a kunai I stole somewhere. I took him apart. Literally. There was so much blood and I... I loved it. The man screamed so loud and so much, but I kept going. Even after he went quiet, I kept cutting into him. I felt more then saw people entering the house, probably alerted by the screams, still I kept going. At some point in time, I switched from cutting him to cutting me. I so wanted to die there. But the people that entered the house stopped me. I was exhausted and lightheaded by that time so I wasn't able to really do anything about it when they started to heal me. It took weeks before I reacted to anything again. The Hokage was in my room with me. He asked me questions on why I did what I did and I told him everything. Every single detail I remembered of everything that was ever done to me in my four years of life. I told him I knew who my parents were and the secret that I carried. I told him why I killed that man. Then I asked him a question that probably still hunts him now. "Can I die now? I've had enough. Can I please die?" A four year old should barely grasp the meaning of death, yet there I was, practically begging for it."

Sasuke has tears in his eyes, his hand covering his mouth. I can't tell what he is thinking, but since he's still silent, I continue. "He didn't let me, well obviously, because if he had, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Instead, he gave me two guardians to look after me. They trained me for two years. After all that happened I barely showed any emotion to them, to anybody really. But after a while I trusted them. There was a third person I trusted, but in the end, all three left me for one reason or another. One had no choice. The other two... Well I guess they didn't really leave me. They just chose a path that wasn't the same as mine and I held that against them. After a couple of years I met them both again and I see now that they made good choices for themselves, though I'd never admit that to them. I still doubt I'll ever see the third person again." I take a deep breath before looking at Sasuke. "That's pretty much all I can tell you without breaking any laws or S-ranked secrets." I feel tense. _He'll leave, right?_ Sasuke just stares at me for the longest time. "What did that man do to you?" His voice is barely a whisper.

I close my eyes again and take a deep breath. "He promised me safety, warmth. He told me I was beautiful. He hugged me on the way to his house, whispering sweet and kind words into my ear as I finally found the slightest bit of warmth in this cold world. For the first time in my whole life. Or so I thought. After eating and resting a bit, he called me over to him. He made me sit on his lap, facing him. Then his sweet whispers turned so very evil. "This is gonna hurt you, demon kid." After that, he raped me. I don't know how long it lasted, but it was more pain then I could handle. I was broken, I couldn't move. I struggled to even breath. The combination of that and the beating afterwards has made me almost incapable of feeling physical pain. If I hadn't met that person that night, I would have probably lost my sanity. I don't think I'm far off now, either. I crave blood, I can't hear certain words without shaking in fear, I can't eat normally, I can't trust anybody, I never feel truly safe, I'm disgusting, I'm used, I'm broken, I'm beyond repa..."

Sasuke throws his arms around me, hugging me tightly. "I'm so sorry." He whispers into my ear. "I'll be here for you, always. Please let me be there for you! I understand if you don't trust me, that it will need more time, but please, I'll trust you no matter what! Please let me be yours to trust!" He pulls himself back a bit and looks into my eyes. His hands land on my cheeks and he starts to wipe away tears I didn't know I was crying. Then he pulls me into a kiss, a careful, soft, tender kiss, leaving me every opportunity to back out of it if I wanted to. I don't. I lean into the kiss and grab the front of his shirt. Sasuke's arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer to him and I feel a smile form on his face at my acceptance. He licks my lips and I immediately open my mouth for him. I feel his hand slide into my hair on the back of my head as he holds my tightly. The tender softness has turned into a possessiveness engulfing me and I submit to it completely. Sasuke breaks the kiss so we can breath. "Naruto, please be mine." Sasuke breaths out between strained breathes. "I am." I respond equally out of breath. Sasuke grins at me. "I love you, Naruto." "I love you too, Sasuke."

We sit there hugging a little while longer when I hear someone approach. Inari walks up to us. The kid looks down at the ground. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you or assumed things about you."

"It's alright. Everybody has their story. Your own story will always be the most important to you until you meet someone you care more about then you do about yourself. It's not selfishness, it's just human. Just remember that you will never be the only one that suffers. Don't get caught in your own pity so much that you forget others around you. I've done that. It's cold and lonely. Just... Just make sure you're there for the people that care about you." I get up, ruffle Inari's hair and walk to Kaka-nii and Sakura, who are standing outside, waiting for us. Sasuke follows me.

"Sasuke, why don't we go training today?" Kaka-nii makes it sound like a question, but before anyone can answer Kaka-nii speaks again. "Naru-chan, please stay with Tazuna. We can't leave him unguarded during the mission and the training I'm planning will have no extra value for you. Besides, that's what you agreed to yesterday. Make sure you get some more rest." I nod and head back to the house.

It's pretty boring. We play a card game to pass the time. After a few hours, in late afternoon, Sakura returns to the house. "He made us walk up a tree without hands. Sasuke is having trouble with it. Kakashi-sensei is giving him extra instructions. I'll stay here, so you can go to him." She tells me with a smile at the end. "Thank you, but I'll stay. The mission should not be passed by due to personal issues." I say in a cold voice. Sakura seems to have gotten used to my tone of voice. She nods en smiles at me again, before joining Tsunami in the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Another two hours later, Kaka-nii enters the house, but Sasuke does not follow him. "Where is Sasuke-kun?" Sakura is quick to ask. "He's still trying. He didn't want to come back."

"So you left a genin in possible enemy territory unguarded and exhausted from training? That genin also happening to be a weak spot to one of the stronger members of your group?" Tazuna asks Kaka-nii. "He's not that far away. Besides, I'd have noticed if there were ninja around us when I left." Before Kaka-nii is even finished talking, I'm already out the door. _Baka Kaka-_ _nii_ _, why would he leave a team member alone!_ I sprint to where I felt they were training before, but when I get there, Sasuke isn't there. I call out to him, but I get no answer. "Fuck!" Looking around a see a kunai in one of the trees, pinning a note.

I take the note and quickly read it. 'Tomorrow at midday at the bridge. Be there if you want the raven back. Oh, and because I know you're always late, the boy will lose something for every ten minutes you're late.' I clench the note in my fist and return to the house. I am beyond angry for Zabuza to pull such a low trick and for Kaka-nii not expecting this. I walk into the house and without saying anything, I slam the note into Kaka-nii's chest, hitting the air out of him and making him stumble back a few steps, and make my way upstairs.

After pasing around the small room for what felt like hours, I lay down on the bed and hug the pillow that slightly smells like Sasuke. _This is my fault. I should have gone there when Sakura came back. He wouldn't have been alone then. Kami damn it!_ **Kit, this is not you fault! If you left Sakura alone, chances are they would have gone after her!** I ignore Kurama as I keep switching between blaming myself, Kaka-nii and Zabuza for Sasuke being taken.

I'm downstairs as soon as the sun starts to show. I sit on the couch, waiting for the others to wake up. Kaka-nii is the first one downstairs. He looks like he hasn't slept and is very worried. When he sees me, he walks over to me and kneels before me. He pulls me into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Naru-chan. This is all my fault. I'll fix this, even if it kills me." I ignore Kaka-nii, I don't even respond to the hug. Kaka-nii sighs as he lets me go and moves towards the kitchen. "It's a low move on Zabuza's part." I tell Kaka-nii. He looks back at me. "Let's blame him in stead of each other or ourselves... Just make sure we get him back." I didn't look at Kaka-nii as I said this. My voice is as even and cold as always.

"You're right, Naru-chan. But I'm still sorry. I should have expected this." Kaka-nii disappears into the kitchen.

The morning is tense. I'm giving off a cold aura, adding to the stress of everybody. The morning is passing by way to slow for my liking. Kaka-nii has been pasing up and down the room in front of me for some time now. Sakura is nervously sitting next to me on the couch. At 11:30 I take a deep breath. "We need to go."

I get up and head towards the door. "Inari, Tsunami. There is a good chance that Gato's men will come here, thinking you will be unprotected. Please make your way into town until we are back. Tazuna, you will accompany us to the bridge." Everybody give a quick nod as we set out for the bridge.

Halfway to the bridge, I notice cut marks on the trees and a cut up boar. _My guess was right, they were after Inari and Tsunami. They should be in town by now._ **I'm sure they'll be fine.** _Like Sasuke was fine?_ I stop and make a Kage Bunshin. The Bunshin heads back to the house and we continue on our way. We arrive ten minutes early, but Zabuza is already there. Sasuke is behind him in what looks like a dome of mirrors. He looks tired, but unharmed.

"You took what's mine." My voice is ice cold and laced with venom as I drop into a fighting stance. "You'll die for that!" I can see Zabuza faltering for a moment, before he regains himself. "I want to fight Kakashi only! If you interfere, fox, the boy dies. He's trapped in an inescapable Gekkai Genki!"

"Then I will join him and force our way out!"

There is a triumphant gleam in Zabuza's eyes. "Oh, please do. I don't mind having two hostages over Kakashi!"

"Sakura, stay close to Tazuna. Naru-chan, don't you dare make this worse by letting your emotions lead. Stay with Sakura, don't move!" I throw Kaka-nii an angry look and sit down. "If anything happens to Sasuke, I'm going to him!" "Fine." Kaka-nii responds. He knows I'm not going to sit there for long. Just long enough for Zabuza to become fully focused on his fight with Kaka-nii. As I sit there, I'm slowly releasing seals on my legs, increasing my speed and power. Kaka-nii starts with a quick kunai attack at Zabuza and soon their fight takes on bigger proportions, jutsus are used in quick succession and their battle slowly moved away from us. Seeing this as my chance, I shunshin into the Gekkai Genki next to Sasuke.

"He's in the mirrors." Sasuke whispers to me. I nod. "He's using his reflection to move around. I can't follow him, he's too fast." Again, I nod. I grab my sword and drop into my fighting stance. If it's a battle of speed, then I might have an advantage.

I see a glint in one of the mirrors. A boy a few years older than us leans out of the mirror. His legs remain in the mirror. "So you're the one that impressed Zabuza-sama so much. You might be strong enough for Zabuza-sama to avoid a fight with you, but strenght doesn't matter against me! You are in my world now, trapped in an inescapable force." The boy sinks back into the mirror. His reflection appears on every mirror.


	8. Bridge building

The boy in the mirrors is moving fast. Judging from the angles of his attack, as long as he is in his mirrors, he's moving as fast as the light that reflects him. However, as soon as he leaves his mirrors to throw his senbons, his speed drops enough for me to follow his movements. Every time he throws them, I block almost all of them with my sword. Those that I miss are blocked by Sasuke, who's standing behind me with his back against my back. Sasuke looks like he has been up all night and after the training Kaka-nii gave him yesterday, he must be near his limit.

Again the boy throws senbons. With an angry snarl I block them again. _Damn them for taking what's mine! Why is he so fast?_ **He's using his reflection to move.** _So he's using light? Take away the light for the reflection, take away the speed?_ **That is what I would guess.** I notice he is becoming more and more focused on Sasuke, seeing as Sasuke isn't keeping up as well as I am with the speed. But still Sasuke is keeping up pretty good. Better than I expected him to. Another senbon attack causes us to dodge in such a way that Sasuke and I are face to face for a second, before moving further to be back to back again effectively switching out positions. In that glimpse I see Sasuke had his Sharingan active. This is the first time he has been able to do so. A strange sense of pride comes over me, but another senbon attack draws my attention back to the fight.

I can see frustration slowly building up in the boy. I might not be able to see his face because of his mask, but his movements tell me enough. The movements are beginning to become slighty erratic. But with the erraticness the attacks also become more unpredictable. Soon after a few more attacks, he manages to hit Sasuke with a few senbons, drawing the small amount of blood that senbons are able to. I hear Sasuke give a small pained moan as he starts breathing a bit harder. He really is at his limit now and I see him struggling to keep standing, let alone fend off the attacks. I need to get him out of here. Worry over Sasuke is competing with and winning from my anger towards the people that dared threaten him.

I move closer to Sasuke. "Everything will go dark soon. You won't be able to see anything for a while. Trust me, stay calm, don't move." I tell him in a low voice. I activate the seal on my leg and the light around us starts to diminish fast. Soon, we are back to back in complete darkness. I hear feet land next to me and a whispered curse. Immediately the feet start to move fast towards us. I turn around to Sasuke, placing my hand on his shoulder and push him down onto his knees with one hand, while I block the oncoming attack with my sword in my other hand. "Stay down!" Sasuke is to exhausted to resist me. The attack was significantly slower than before, but it had a lot more strenght behind it. The boy had switched from his senbons to a short sword. Crouching down low, I place one foot against Sasuke to keep check on where he is. With my free hand I start to make a Rasengan as I focus my hearing on locating the boy. The seal is strong enough to hide even the intense light given by the concentrated chakra of the Rasengan.

The silent footsteps are becoming deafening to me as I enhance my senses with Kurama's chakra. Soon I've pinpointed the boy's movement and I rush at him with my sword in front of my and the Rasengan behind me. I make sure my sword swishes through the air so it is heard by the boy. The boy sidesteps my sword, but steps right into the path of the Rasengan. Hitting him straight in the gut, I feel my hand sink into his body silently tearing apart the soft inner layers of his being. There is not even a sound from the boy. The warmness and wetness of the blood overwhelms me. The boy falls limply over to me and I let him crumble to the ground, my hand sliding out of him in his fall. I hear the ice mirrors melt and dissolve around us. Channeling chakra into the seal on my leg, I release the light again. For a second, the light is blinding before my eyes adjust to it again.

A heart-wrenching scream sounds from behind me. "Nooo! Haku!" Zabuza is running towards Haku and I step back to Sasuke. Sliding my arm around his waist, while I pull his arm around my neck, I make sure to get Sasuke away before Zabuza arrives at our location. I shunshin to where Sakura and Tazuna are and release Sasuke from my grip. Quickly glancing over Sasuke, I make sure he's not severely injured. Kaka-nii appears next to me, a little worse for wear but further he looks fine, and we watch as the stone cold Kirigakura no Kijin, Momochi Zabuza cries his heart out over the death of his companion, Haku. His arms are broken, he is bleeding badly from several wounds and his signature sword lies forgotten not far from him. He will not live long even if there was help for him.

Before I was able to say anything to Zabuza, a cold voice sounds from behind us. "I knew the Mist demon and his pet wouldn't be any good. Look at that sad excuse of a tool, dead already. How useless, I'm disappointed. Well, since I planned to sell him after killing you anyway, Zabuza, I'll guess I'll make my money by selling his corpse. I'm sure with his Gekkai Genki I can still fetch a good price for him. Men! Prepare to kill Zabuza along with the Konoha ninja!" A short man surrounded by a small army of now growling hired muscle stands smirking at the scene on the bridge.

"Gato..." Zabuza growls from his place beside Haku, betrayal and grief clear on his face. I can tell from where I stand his intent to take Gato out. "As a parting gift, I'll borrow you my sword. Haku fought well. So did you." Zabuza locks eyes with me, before standing up and making his way towards me. Kaka-nii, Sakura and Tazuna tense. Sasuke is looking at my face searching for what I meant with what I said, but my expression is cold and blanc. Once Zabuza is level with us, he doesn't slow down. I flip my sword, grabbing it at the tip as I extent it to Zabuza. He grabs the heft of my sword in his mouth before he speeds up and cuts his way straight through the hired muscle on his way to Gato. _Blood_. Feeling a sudden urge to join in at the sight of blood, I take out two kunai and start cutting away at the hired muscle that are not in the path of Zabuza on his way to Gato. _Fast_. Most of the hired muscle are low Chuunin at best, making the kills easy and quick. _Make it rain._ With every cut I make, more blood covers the ground and me. _Pain_. Faces flash before me, quickly contorting from fear or determination into short snaps of pain before changing into the empty look of death, staring up at me from their place on the cold blood soaked grounds. _Faster!_ With each time I lash out, I feel adrenaline build up inside me. _Rush_. Soon, way to soon but way to late as well, the last man sinks to his knees before falling backwards, never to move again. _Stillness_. There is no movement around me and my breathing speeds up as the adrenaline quickly drops, panic quickly building up inside me. _Silence_. I drop the kunai but I can't even hear them hitting the ground. _Fear_. My eyes wander over the dead around me and they land on my sword, embedded deeply in the chest of Gato. _Need_. I start to make my way over the the sword, looking at it like it's my salvation from this fear, this panic. _Calm_. My fingers lightly brush the cold metal of the hilt as I reach for my sword. Before I can grab hold of it any further, a soft hand grabs my wrist, turning me around so I cannot see my sword anymore. Instead I see Sasuke, a soft smile of his face. "It's okay, you're okay, everything is okay." He whispers softly. I feel all the panic disappear as I step closer to let Sasuke hug me. I lean heavily against him with my eyes closed. "Thanks." I whisper back to him, but so softly I doubt he hears me.

After my breath becomes more steady again, Sasuke pushes me back a bit so he can look at me. "Why did you need your sword so badly that you didn't hear me call you?" Sasuke asks as he pushes back some loose strands of hair from my face.

"To kill myself." I say simply.

"What? Why?" Shock and worry show on Sasuke's face.

"I always do that after killing. Don't worry, I won't succeed. I don't think I will ever succeed..." My eyes look empty while I look at Sasuke. I tilt my head a bit giving Sasuke a small unamused smile. "Like I said, I'm broken."

"Why did you stop now?"

I look at Sasuke for a while, trying to find a reason why I don't feel the need now to injure myself. I never have been broken out of my low after a killing spree, not even by Kaka-nii or Iru-nii. There is only one answer that comes to mind. "Because of you." Sasuke blinks a few times before he registers what I just said. Then his face brakes into a smile. His hand slides around my neck, pulling me towards him. Our foreheads are pressed together as Sasuke lets out a small chuckle. "I love you, dobe. I'll always be there to stop you." I can't help but smile a small smile back to Sasuke. "Thanks. I love you too."

The sound of a lot of people moving closer to us breaks the moment Sasuke and I were enjoying. I look around to see that Zabuza has made his way back to Haku after taking out half the hired muscle and Gato. He's lying beside him, holding his hand. It's clear they are both dead, but Zabuza looks very content that he made it to be next to Haku when he died. It looks rather peaceful, very different from the dead behind me. Looking further I see Tazuna standing there staring at us. To his right stand Sakura and Kaka-nii, Sakura is tending to Kaka-nii's wounds with bandages as they talk to each other quietly. Behind them is a group of villagers quickly approaching. They stop dead in their tracks when they realise what they are looking at exactly. A young girl wrapping a blood covered adult man in bandages. A grandpa staring at what has just happened like he wished he never had to witness it. Two dead people next to each other looking like they found heaven, one of which with a gaping hole in his chest and the other covered in too much blood to be just his own. And two young boys standing among piles of dead bodies, one of which covered head to toe in blood and the other stained with blood from giving the first boy a hug. With how close they stand together they still look like they could be hugging. It's a sight not soon to be forgotten.

Sasuke grabs my wrist again and he starts walking towards Kaka-nii and Sakura. Tazuna snaps out of his daze and makes his way to the villagers that just arrived to give them his version of the events. Gasps and noises of fear are heard from the crowd as Tazuna tells about the recent events. Afterwards, they begin planning a way to get rid of the bloody mess we made. It seems like most of the bodies will get dumped into the river in the timespan of couple of days as it is fairly close to the ocean and the timespan should make sure non of the bodies will wash up into the shore at a later time.

"We should make sure Zabuza and Haku are properly buried. That sword of Zabuza also needs to be taken somewhere it can't hurt anybody until a new worthy carrier is found." Kaka-nii says. I nod in agreement, as do Sasuke and Sakura. I walk over to the sword and seal it into a holding scroll, which I hand over to Kaka-nii. He gives me a look like I just sprouted a second head. "You're the leader of our squad, you should have it." I say with my usual cold voice and emotionless face. "Besides, the sword doesn't interest me. Let the Hokage decide what is to be done with it." I add as I walk to the bodies of Zabuza and Haku. I take out a different scroll, one that can hold and preserve perishable materials such as dead human bodies. With a few hand signs the scroll seals both bodies into it. I also have Kaka-nii this scroll. Now I'm getting a look like he's questioning my sanity. _Resonable enough._ A look share by him, Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna. I sigh. "They should indeed be buried, yes, but not before we make sure no information can be extracted from their bodies nor that their bodies can be used in any jutsu's that would require a human ninja body. There are... rituals I guess you could call them, to ensure that cannot happen. After those are done, we will bury these two properly. I do not believe they care about where they get buried as long as it is next to each other."

"You're right. Good thinking, Naru-chan. Let's help with the cleanup, shall we?" I give Kaka-nii a pointed look, but Sakura is the one to speak. "Kakashi-sensei, you want to help clean up dead bodies while you are still bleeding from your wounds, Sasuke being near exhaustion and Naruto covered in blood from head to toe? Somehow I don't think that will work out very well. The villagers look freaked out enough as it is by the way things are now. If you are going to help like you don't care about how your students look or your own injuries, they might panic!" Looking up at the villagers not far from here I can indeed see they are throwing nervous glances at us, although Tazuna is trying to get them to calm down. "Right, let's get cleaned up first then, Sakura, you stay here with the villagers and tell them we will be back to help as soon as possible. Naru-chan, go jump in the river or something, than you can join to help. Sasuke, let's get you back to Tsunami so she can help us with our injuries. Then you can get some sleep."

Sakura nods before making her way to the villagers. They stiffen slighty at her approach, nervous she might do something to them, but quickly relax as she starts talking to them and smiling at them. _That is interesting. We could use her skill with people in diplomatic missions._ **She would need some training though. Maybe** **Yugao** **can help her with that. She also needs to learn something to make her more useful in** **these** **types of missions.** _We could push her towards medical jutsu. She has enough chakra control. With the right training, we can increase her chakra reserves_.

Snapping back to reality I look at Kaka-nii. "Do not leave him on his own again, Kakashi-sensei." I hiss at Kaka-nii while glaring at him. He gulps and nods before I jump off the bridge into the water. I hear a few gasps as I do so. I also hear Kaka-nii whisper "When did he get so protective of you?" to Sasuke, but unfortunately, the answer of Sasuke is literally drowned out as I hit the water.

Somehow, I've come to love bathing in the cold and biting waters of natural bodies of water like this river. I feel a lot cleaner after that than a shower or bathing in a bath tub and it relaxes me so much more. It's like emptying my mind without putting effort into it like with meditation. After ten minutes of washing and trying to remove as much red strains as possible, I jump back onto the bridge and look at what needs to be done. Neither the villagers nor Sakura have made an attempt yet at moving any closer to the massacre on the unfinished end of the bridge. I approach the villagers. Some take a step back, but Sakura and Tazuna walk up to me a bit. To meet me, but probably also to show the others that I can be trusted. "I can clean that up quite fast if you don't mind doing some fire damage repairs on that side of the bride." I offer to Tazuna while I point at the end of the bridge.

"What would you do?" Tazuna asks with a little doubt in his voice. "I'd burn the bodies with wind infused fire jutsu's, causing the bodies to, well evaporate, if you will. But the bridge would take damage. It is the most hygienic way to get rid of this many bodies. Throwing them into the river can cause disease later on. A mass grave is also a good possibly but would you want that on your land?" I state in a cold voice like it's a business meeting. "Another bonus would be that nobody needs to see the massacre up close but me. Since I'm partly the cause of it, it would not affect me as it would the villagers."

Tazuna looks conflicted about damaging the bridge compared to having to touch and move dead bodies. "I'll talk it over with the villagers and workers." Tazuna walks towards the villagers. I sit down to wait for their decision. Sakura sits down beside me. "Are you alright? Not injured?" She asks worriedly while furrowing her brow. "I might have a few cuts and scrapes. I'll be fine. I will not need medical attention."

"Good." She says. "Good. Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." I deadpan.

"Right, so, I wanted to ask, what do you and Sasuke have going on? I mean, we saw you guys k-kiss." She turns red at this remark. "And Sasuke is kinda like obsessed over you. When we went training without you, he seemed so distracted. That's why I wanted you to go to him. It would have helped him focus..." She trails off at the end, looking like she is thinking something over.

"Would you be upset if Sasuke would have a relationship with me?" I ask as I tilt my head a bit. Again she blushed and sighs. "No, you guys would be so cute together, but I do feel a bit heartbroken. I've liked Sasuke for a long time, but him being gay explains why it never felt like it could be something real. I guess I've noticed before he wouldn't be interested in me like that." She sighs again as she looks at me. "So tell me, are you in a relationship?"

"Yes."

After a moment of silence, Sakura nudges my side. "Come on, elaborate a bit." Her eyes are glowing eagerly. **Come** **on, kit, she's nice. Talk her head off, make a friend.** _Sasuke is my friend._ **No, Sasuke is your boyfriend. You also need a best friend. You know, to talk about anything and everything knowing you can trust that person.** _You think that is Sakura?_ **Could** **be.** _What about you?_ **What about me?** _Aren't you my best friend?_ **Nah, I'm more like a parent!** _Right, right,_ _uhu_ _, sure._ Kurama growls in the back of my mind. **You** **see! Like with that behaviour from you! It gets me so angry I wanna snap your neck, but I still love you, so I** **don't** **. That's not friendship, that's parenting!** I sigh and look at Sakura.

"If you tell anyone about this, I'll come to hunt you." Sakura nods seriously and gets a bit closer. "I've been through enough in my life to never trust a human again in all my life. And I never intended to either. I... he... It hurts, you know, to loose a bond with someone. I don't want to risk losing a bond, so I made sure I made no bonds. I broke the few bonds I did have because they decided to follow a path more suited for their lives, choosing to be angry with them in stead of being happy for them. I lost the other bond I had because of a decision I understand he needed to make but I hate him for having made it, because it meant he would have to abandon me along with the village. But Sasuke..." I take a deep breath and look at my hands. "He's different, I guess. I found myself trusting him before I knew I could even start to trust anybody again. I'd probably do anything he'd tell me to do at this point. I feel so dependant on him... He makes me sleep better at night when he's next to me but at the same time, he could crush me if he wanted to and I would probably let him. I don't like it. It makes me nervous. I don't want to be like that, dependant. But I also don't want to be without him. It's confusing really. I don't want it, but I do. I care for him. I love him. But I hate him too for the same reasons I love him." I look up at Sakura. She looks at me with with a furrowed brow, before she pulls me into a hug.

"That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard." She squeels out a bit too loud since she's so close to me, making me flinch a bit. "Sorry." She whispers. "You really do love him! That you feel conflicted is only natural, right? I mean if you have trust issues and then you find yourself trusting someone, that's like, against your nature, so it will make you confused, right? You need to find your way through those feelings now." I nod at her and she continues to gush. "I really love you two together. And I'm happy you choose to share what's bothering you with me. I hope we will do this again. I think we could be friends, right?" I nod again.

At that moment, Tazuna walks back to us. "If you could burn them, that would be appreciated." He says sheepishly. I get up and make my way to the end of the bridge. I focus a bit on the combination of the two chakra nature's. "Katon: Fūton: Enpō no Rappa no jutsu (Fire release: Wind release: Blazing Wind Wild Wave)." Afterwards I keep the fire controlled and eventually blow the fire out with Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu (Wind release: Wind Cutter) effectively also blowing away any remaining ashes.

When we get back to Tazuna's house, Tazuna quickly catches up on events with Tsunami. Sakura walks over to Tsunami as well to see if she needs help. I make my way upstairs to find Sasuke a bit bandaged up and asleep. I crawl under the covers next to him and fall asleep quite quickly, inhaling his scent an enjoying his warmth.

We stay for another week or so until the bridge is finished, but nothing interesting happens. Sakura and Sasuke get some more training exercises to do, but closer to the house this time. I do some of my own training and Kaka-nii rereads that book of his three times. Then we make our way back to Konoha and report to the Hokage.


	9. Surprises

_Kurama..._ I say in a whiney tone to Kurama while in my mindscape. It's half past 11 at night and I'm not able to sleep at all.

**Yes, kit?**

_Did I do something wrong?_

Kurama looks at me in slight surprise. **What** **do you mean?**

_Sasuke... It's been 4 days since we've been back, but he hasn't come to see me. We got a week off, even from training, so he can't be that busy..._

**Aww** **... Are you upset he's not fawning over you?** Kurama said in a teasing tone.

_...But he was so adamant about being with me and now it's like he ignores me. I even saw him run away when he saw me near_ _Ichiraku's_ _!_ I say exasperated, trowing my head back while leaning against Kurama.

**He probably has something to do. Don't overthink this, kit. I'm sure everything is fine!**

_I guess you're right._ I let it a frustrated sigh. _I'm just... Tomorrow is... T-that day and I was hoping he'd be here, with me... But I didn't even get the chance to ask him._ I cuddle into Kurama's tails as I mope around some more, mumbling about teme's and missing him and being scared and being bored... and being hungry. Not seeing Sasuke means not getting any real food either. Kurama folds his tails around me, humming comfortingly. It's almost sounds like he is purring for me. I grudgingly settle myself down, engulfed in the warmth of Kurama's tail hug. **I know, kit. We'll get through it.**

Tomorrow... It's gonna be hell. Maybe I should go hide? But where would I be more save than behind all the seals on my home? Then again, the seals never stopped them before. They've always found a way in. Why would this birthday be any different? Maybe I should just stay in here and wait to see what will happen? I did add more seals since last year. Even a few I created myself that should form a problem even for a seals master. The seals are created with techniques considered unusable or forbidden due to the dangerous nature of using them. Maybe this year I can get through this unharmed..?

There is a knock on my door. I freeze. I've been so caught up in thought I haven't noticed somebody approaching. _What time is it? Are they this early?_ I feel slight panic rising up in my throat. **Calm down, kit, it's the Uchiha.** _Huh, Sasuke?_

I make my way to the front door with a kunai in hand. _What, is he just gonna show up like he didn't ignore me for four days straight?_ I scowl at my door. Pushing some chakra into the seal that can deactivate and reactivate all the other seals, I throw the door open with a bit too much force, slamming it against the wall. A startled Sasuke is looking at me. With a pissed off look on my face and a small growl I grab his hand and cut one of his fingers, drawing a small amount of blood. "Itai, hey, what the...." Before he can finish his sentence, I pull him inside holding his bleeding hand, slam the door shut behind him and press his bloody hand against one of the seals on the inside of the door. The seal starts to light up, followed by the seals around it. Almost like a ripple in a pond the glow passes over all the seals. I then reactivate all the seals, before turning around and walking into the living room. I flop down on the couch face down and wait for Sasuke to come to me.

After a few seconds of silence, I hear Sasuke take off his shoes and walk into the living room. I lift my head up to glare at him. He just stands there with a smirk on his face. "What?" I snap at him. His smirk doesn't falter. "You just basically gave me the key to your house, didn't you?"

I drop my head back onto the couch, face planting back into a pillow. "Yes." I grudgingly admit. Sasuke walks over and sits down on my back like I'm not sprawled all over the couch. I just don't react. "You gonna ask me why I showed up at your door at midnight?" Sasuke asks with a teasing tone.

"..."

"You're not curious?"

"..." I give Sasuke an angry look.

"O, come on, why are you angry?"

"..." I look away.

"Really, you're gonna ignore me?"

"..."

"Well, I'm going to tell you anyway. I-"

I suddenly sit up, throwing Sasuke off of the couch, flat on his ass. I glare at him. "Really? You're just going to ignore the fact that you've been avoiding me for four days?"

"That's why you're pissed off?" He asks with a surprised tone.

"Yes, that's why I'm pissed off! You told me you wanted me with you and then you ignore me for four days straight! I even saw you run away from me after seeing me a few times!" I say with a slightly raised voice. Then I continue in a saddened voice, more to myself than to Sasuke. "What did I expect anyway, it's not like anyone could ever be serious about being with me."

I see a pang of guilt come over Sasuke's face. "Oh, dobe..." He pulls me into a hug. I hit him in the chest with my fist in frustration while pushing him away with my other hand, but not with a lot of strenght because, of course, I'm already giving into him, again, before he can pull me close enough to prevent me from moving much more. "I'm sorry... Oh hey, don't be upset! I wasn't avoiding you. I wanted to do something for you, like a surprise, but I guess I should have let you known what I was doing. Or at least that I was going to be busy."

I feel tears in my eyes. "I hate this. I hate that I've become so dependant on you that you can reduce me to tears just by not being here! I don't like it. I should be used to being alone by now. Why am I like this with you?" I ask as I slightly relax into the embrace. I don't care, I just love being so close to him. I could never stay mad at him for long.

"I think you're in love with me. People do crazy things when they're in love, you know? And you missed me. There's nothing wrong with that. You're afraid I'll leave you, because that's what happened to you before. Maybe you're even afraid because I'm with you to begin with?" Sasuke says with a serious look on his face

I nod into his shoulder. "Maybe..."

"Like you said, you expected to be alone, maybe forever, so it would make sense if it's confusing when you do find someone, right?"

I take a deep breath. "I guess so... I'm sorry I got mad at you. You have your own things. I shouldn't stop you from doing them."

"Listen, I'm sorry too. Next time I need to do something that will take a lot of time, I'll let you know, so you know I'm not avoiding you or anything, alright?"

I smile at him a bit, before a though crosses my mind. "All I ever seem to do around you is cry. Aren't you getting tired of me yet?"

Sasuke pushes me back a bit before he puts his hand on my cheek. "Of course not. Why would I be? Besides, even your crying face is cute. I love you, dobe. And you love me, right?"

I smile at him again. "Tsk, teme, 'course I do." Sasuke leans in and kisses me, his hand buried in my hair. His other arm wraps itself around my shoulders, pulling me close. He's licking my lips and I respond back by leaning into him and opening my mouth to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. Sasuke suddenly spins us around making me let out a small squeel and he sits down on the couch, pulling me to sit on his lap. His kisses trail from my lips to the nape of my neck, where he licks and sucks untill he gets the reaction he is looking for. I let out a soft moan and throw my head the other way, giving him more access. Redoubling his efforts, Sasuke continues on the spot that he found was most sensitive, softly scraping the spot with his teeth between hard sucks and soft kisses. I let my hands slip under his shirt and run my fingers over his abs as I continue to moan softly. _So warm._ Sasuke's hands disappear from my neck and shoulders to slide up around my waist, making their way under my shirt and resting in the small of my back, fingers slightly trailing underneath the waistband of my pants.

With a last lick, almost to comfort the now bruised area, Sasuke removes himself from my neck, slightly out of breath. I let out a small whimper at the sudden loss of the sensation as I look into his eyes. He's smiling at me. I love it when he smiles. I smile back at him. "So why did you show up at my house at midnight?" I ask.

"O, that's right! Stay here, I'll be right back!" I get off his lap and sit on the couch. _Cold_. I'm a bit sad he left now. I shouldn't have asked anything...

Sasuke walks back into my living room with his hands behind his back. "Close your eyes, hold up your hands." He says with an amused smile. I do as he says. He places something on my hands. It feels like the underside of a plate. I hear him strike a match and feel small movements on the plate in my hands. "Okay, open your eyes now." I open my eyes and I'm met with the smallest cake I've ever seen neatly placed on a pure black saucer. It's not a cupcake, it really looks like a normal cake, just tiny. The base is brown, so I'm guessing chocolate. There's white cream in between the three layers of cake. The cake is topped off with a bright red and yellow frosting forming an intricate flower on it and a single burning candle in the middle of the cake. I look slightly puzzled at Sasuke who is crouching before me.

"Happy birthday!" I blink a few times at him before I look at the cake and back at Sasuke again. Sasuke chuckles at my reaction. "Go on, blow out the candle, make a wish and eat the cake!"

"People do that at birthdays?" I ask before I blow out the candle. _Would it be selfish to wish for Sasuke to stay with me always?_ **Go for it I'd say, kit.** _How about this, I wish for Sasuke to always want to be with me._ I look up at Sasuke. "You also brought a fork, didn't you?" I ask with an smirk. Again Sasuke chuckles as he hands me a fork. "Of course I did. After hearing how much you normally eat, I doubted you'd have a kitchen, let alone stuff belonging in a kitchen.

"I'll have you know, my kitchen is fully functional and filled with all the normal utensils, thank you very much." I take a bite. It is indeed chocolate cake and it's amazing! Maybe that's just because I'm hungry... I finish it quickly with a satisfied smile on my face, however, my stomach does not agree with my face and let's out a loud growl. With a red face I look at Sasuke. He just looks at me for a few seconds before laughing out loud. I hit him on his arm. "What? I'm hungry!"

He looks at me rising an eyebrow. "You didn't eat the last four days, did you?" I look away innocently. "Well, I guess we should get going then, so I can feed you." Sasuke gets up and holds out his hand. Without thinking I grab it and he pulls me towards the front door.

I feel fear welling up inside me when I realise where we're going, making me stop dead in my tracks a meter or so away from the door. "I... Really d-don't want t-to go outside, not today..." I say as I pull back my hand and take a few steps back.

"Why not? Why are you afraid? I know your parents died on this day, but a lot of villagers died today. That is why we celebrate. To remember those who died and the defeat of the Kyuubi. Come on, I'll be with you. I will not leave you alone." Sasuke has his hand out to me.

"Don't let go..." I say as I hesitantly take Sasuke's hand.

"Of course not." He says with a smile. He deactivates the seals the same way he saw me activate them earlier. Once outside I see him look for a similar seal. I quickly press my hand against it. "So that one then, okay." I hear Sasuke mumble.

Sasuke drags me through the village in the direction of the Uchiha compound. I'm relieved it's still the middle of the night. Barely any people are out in the streets and they keep away from us. I hear some of them sneering at me, but I'm focussing on Sasuke to prevent myself from panicking. _Why_ _am I even out here again? This is dangerous!_ **Just** **keep close to the Uchiha. They** **will** **leave** **you alone with him close to you** **.** _I hope so._ I focus on keeping my breathing calm. I don't want Sasuke to notice just how close I am to panic.

Soon we reach the Uchiha compound. Sasuke is still dragging me along and I'm still letting him. Luckily, nobody bothered us. I guess Kurama was right. Without stopping, he takes us into his house and walks upstairs to his bedroom. "What's the idea here, teme?" I ask with a little bit of suspicion while still holding hands.

"Hn, really, that's your conclusion? I can't get you in my bedroom without your mind jumping that way?" Sasuke smirks at me.

"What am I supposed to think?"

"Come on, just lie down with me. I know you probably haven't slept since we got back, so, as a start to your birthday, I thought it would be nice if you could get some sleep." After both stripping down to a shirt and boxers, Sasuke pulls me down onto his bed and we snuggle tightly together. I feel Sasuke press a kiss against my forehead. _It's so nice and warm_. Before I'm even able to say anything, I'm asleep.

I wake up again long past dawn. Sasuke is not next to me. I sit up and look around. His room has a lot of dark colours and gives off a soothing feeling. There is some clatter downstairs that draws my attention. I make my way towards it and find Sasuke moving around the kitchen cooking. "Good morning, dobe, did you sleep well? You were out like a light in seconds."

"Well, I was tired!" I say in a defensive tone. Sasuke chuckles a bit.

"I made breakfast. I'm guessing you could use it. I'll tell you about the plan for today after we finish eating." I give him a pointed look before I start eating. As I look around I notice a small round baking mold tucked away in a corner of the counter. "Did you bake that cake yourself?" I ask a little surprised.

Sasuke gets a little red in the face. "I did."

"Well, it was good! So is this, by the way! Thanks."

"I'm happy you liked it. I love to cook, but I never really had someone to cook for, so it was nice to cook for you." There is a small smile on his face, making me smile as well.

"So, plans for today. I wanted to spend the d..."

"I'm not going outside." I interrupt Sasuke. "I can't be outside today, I am not going." I let my voice go cold and my face is back to showing no emotions. Sasuke is a little taken aback by my sudden seriousness.

"Why?" Sasuke asks.

"My experiences with birthdays is not great. I told you about it before. But those two birthdays, although I consider them the worst, they were not the only birthdays that have very bad memories for me." I let it a humourless laugh. "Bad days did not only come on my birthday, thought." I'm staring blankly ahead of me while images of those days flash before my eyes.

"And if I stay with you? I'll not leave you alone, I promise." Sasuke looks at me with pleating eyes. _Tsk, that's just unfair! I can't say no to those eyes! What if something happens?_ **We'll run for it.** _That's easier said then done._ **You could outrun anybody and you know it. We just need a place where we can go.** I look at Sasuke. "If I need to run and hide, can I come back here?"

"Are you going to tell me why you would need to hide?" I shake my head no. "Yes, you can come here. You should always come here. I'll know where to find you then. So, get ready, we leave in 10 minutes."

After getting ready we leave for town. We meet up with the rest of the Rookie 12. I put on my cold mask again. After getting congratulated by all of them, my nerves seem to ease out a bit. In a group it can't get that bad, right? We hang around the center square, where the stalls for the Kyuubi festival are set up. As a group, we visit all the stalls, buying items and some food and just entertaining ourselves with browsing through the items. There are some sneers here and there thrown at me, but nothing too bad. Sasuke got me a pair of red leather gloves to match my sword, a new light blue shirt I was apparantly looking at too long, and dango as lunch. At the end of the day, we go to a sushi restaurant. During dinner, the others give me gifts as well. Mostly ninja related items such as kunai, a first aid kit and food pills. Sakura, however got me an orange leather braided bracelet with a silver clasp and a silver Uzumaki symbol charm.

"Thank you. I appreciate the gifts." I say in a cold, but polite voice while inclining my head slightly. I get a smile from most of them. By now they know that my cold exterior is hiding my true self and that if I say something, I mean it even if I don't really reflect what I say in my voice and face. Shortly after, one by one the others leave, leaving just me and Sasuke. The Kyuubi festival is well on its way now. Sasuke holds out his hand. "Come on, let's take a walk." I grab his hand and we wander through Konoha in comfortable silence. The overall atmosphere has gone from busy market to street festival during our dinner. People are more loud and happy-go-lucky. There's music on the corner of every street and in the center square are traditional drums set up. The rhythm is a steady beat made to get you to move. The whole square is filled with people moving to the beat.

Before we can enter the square, I pull back a bit making Sasuke look back at me. I shake my head slightly. He shrugs and heads in another direction, away from the square into a more silent alley. _This might have been a mistake..._ I notice people in the darker corners, their eyes staring straight at me. I move a bit closer to Sasuke. _Maybe we should have stayed in the more crowded area?_ Fear is creeping into me. Memories taunt me in the back of my mind. Images of beatings and worse blur my vision as my heart rate picks up quickly. _Heh, where's the_ _powerful_ _Bloody red fox now?_

"Uchiha-sama, why are you touching that?" A deep male voice says from quite close behind us. Sasuke turns around to meet eyes with an obviously drunk man and a group of four others behind him. I'm frozen in my spot. That voice is way too familiar. The four are slowly walking around us, most of them swaying as they walk. "Touching what?" Sasuke asks a bit confused while I feel his hand tighten around mine slightly.

"That thing you're holding hands with. Don't you know what that is?" The deep voice sends a cold shiver down my spine. I can feel my heart in my throat. This would not be the first time he would get his hands on me. Sasuke looks down at his hand when he notices me loosening my grip. "You should go." I tell Sasuke in a whisper. Sasuke looks at me to meet an emotionless face and shakes his head no, before he turns his attention back to the man.

"Why would you insult him like that?" He hisses. The man let's out a dark laugh. "So you don't know? Or has that demon manipulated you into thinking he's just a human? No, we can't have that. You must know the truth! Uchiha-sama, let us free you from that monster." At those words, all five seem to suddenly jump into action, the man and two men grab me and two other men push Sasuke away. I'm too paralyzed by my fears to give any reaction and all I seem to be able to do is just let is happen. _Help me!_ I'm pushed hard against the wall and see the glint only the metal of a knife can give off. Closing my tear-filled eyes I wait for the sensation of metal piercing my hands as they are held above my head to pin me down and the greedy hands that always follow. _Please, no!_ The injuries might not hurt me anymore, but the fear that I feel is too much. It's blinding, paralyzing, numbing. It's not the injuries I fear...

_...not again..._

_...please..._

_..._ _no_ _..._

But it never comes...

The sensations I was expecting never come. Instead, my hands are released and I hear some struggling noises from the men in front of me. Slowly I open my eyes. The three men are frozen in place. All three in the exact same position. There are dark shadows underneath them. Too dark to be natural. I follow the shadows and see Shikamaru holding his family jutsu. Choji and Sasuke are pounding away on the two men that had pushed Sasuke away and Ino is walking towards me quickly, but carefully. My heart jumps at the sight, relief washing over me. _I'm saved._

Once she's close to me, she immediately pulls me into a hug. I tense at the contact, but Ino doesn't seem to care. "It's okay, we've got you, you're okay." She whispers into my ear.

I'm still fixated on Sasuke and Choji. "Stop them. They shouldn't hurt them, not for me." My voice is as cold and emotionless as ever, though I have tears rolling down my cheeks. The promise the Hokage made me give after finding me on my fourth birthday is screaming through my head. "You can never be the cause of injuries to any of the villagers ever again. I cannot hide these incidents from the counsel. Promise me! "

"What?" Ino asks confused.

"Stop them. Stop Sasuke and Choji before the men are really injured." Ino looks at Sasuke and Choji and then back at me. She gives me a small nod before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the rest. "Sasuke, Choji, we're leaving." Ino barks at the boys while tapping Shikamaru's shoulder to get him to follow as well. Ino keeps walking, dragging me along. Shikamaru drops his jutsu and glares a wordless threat at the three men in the alley. I see Sasuke throw an extra punch in the face of one of the two men before quickly catching up with us, Choji hot on his heels.

Sasuke grabs my other hand as he passes us by, pulling me after him. "We're going home." He has a pissed off look on his face. Before long, we are in front of the Uchiha compound. Sasuke ushers us all in. We settle down around the kitchen table as Sasuke makes us some tea. There is silence, though Shikamaru looks like he's almost exploding from all the questions he wants to ask. I just stare at the table blankly untill Sasuke comes over with the tea. Sitting down next to me, all four of them look at me. This is gonna be a long night...


	10. Preparations

Ino, Choji and Shikamaru have moved their chairs so they are sitting on the opposite side of the round table from me. Sasuke has moved his chair closer to me and is fussing over me to make sure I'm alright. "I'm fine, Sasuke, I am." I say to him in an slightly affectionate tone, brushing him away a bit. I don't want to be cold to Sasuke, but I also don't want to show too much emotion around the others. I turn my attention to the other three people at the table, staring at them with an emotionless face. Shikamaru is the first to speak up. "What happened?" He looks at us expectantly. "After everybody left, we went around the festival for a bit. Naruto didn't wanna go into the square, so we walked to the more quiet area on our way back to my place. Then those men walked up to us. They said something about Naruto being a monster and a demon and about making me see the truth? I don't know. They were clearly drunk. But I do think they knew Naruto." Sasuke explains. Shikamaru looks at me to see if I have anything to add. I don't say anything.

"Why did you stop us, Naruto?" Ino asks in a concerned voice. I look up at her. "It was a promise I made. A long time ago. I intent to keep it."

"Alright then, why were they after you?" Shikamaru asks.

"They know a secret nobody is supposed to know. That is a problem I've had for a long time. The villagers don't take kindly to me. I'm sure you've noticed. Some are just more outspoken about it then others." **Well, there's an understatement.** "There are the few that act on in. Those men were an example of the last." The little emotion I had in my voice is now gone.

"And you can't tell us that secret, can you?" I shake my head. "If we weren't here, would you tell Sasuke?"

"I'd tell him more, but not that." I say matter of factly.

"But you're okay, right? They didn't do anything to you? I mean, we were on time, right?" Choji asks. I nod.

"Why were you three there? You were some of the first to leave after the party." Sasuke asks.

"Well, Ino wanted to go to the square and we walked past the alley when we saw you being pushed out screaming at the men to let Naruto go. It's troublesome, but of course we helped."

"Thank you." I say, inclining my head. I pick up my tea and the rest follows my example. We sit in silence as we finish our tea. After that, the three leave. Sasuke and I are now alone again.

"You're staying here." Sasuke starts in an overprotective tone. "There's no way I'm letting you go out into the streets tonight again." _Like I want to be outside today_. "I'm sorry." Sasuke continues, his eyes a bit downcast. I look at him a bit confused. "It's my fault. I should have listened to you when you said you didn't want to go outside. It's my fault you almost got hurt."

"No, it's not. It really is not. Besides, it was the best birthday I ever had. Hell, even if something had happened in that alley, it would still have been the best birthday I ever had." There is a sad smile on my face. I blink and grin at Sasuke. "Thank you. You went through a lot of trouble for me. I appreciate it."

Sasuke moves to stand in front of me, looking me in the eyes. He grabs my hand and brings it up to his mouth, making me stand up as he does so. He presses his lips to the back of my hand in a small and affectionate kiss, closing his eyes like he is savouring the moment. "Really dobe, only you can make it sound like getting assaulted in an alley was a good day. Sad thing is that I know it wouldn't have been the worst day of your life." He slides a hand behind my neck and into my hair, pulling my head to his. He presses his forehead to mine. We both close our eyes, enjoying the closeness between us.

After a second, Sasuke moves, letting his lips land on mine. His other hand lands on my hip, pushing me back ever so gently. I follow his lead and feel the chair behind me. I sit down. I have to tilt my head back as Sasuke stands over me, his lips still on mine. Both his hands move to my face, cupping my cheeks. He steps even closer, a leg on either side of me and his groin presses against my stomach as he stand over me. I put my hands on his hips. His kisses become more urgent, licking at my lips to get me to open my mouth. I'm not giving in. I want him to make me, at least a bit.

Sensing my reluctance, Sasuke growls a bit. "Open." He breaths out, lips back on mine expecting me to obey. There is command in his voice. It sends a shiver down my spine. When I don't respond immediately, one of his hands lowers itself to my chest, stroking around a bit untill he finds my nipple. He pinches it, strong but shortly, making me open my mouth to suck in a breath. I can feel Sasuke smile as he deepens the kiss again, his tongue making its way inside my mouth. Sasuke is dominating the kiss, making me moan and squirm under his undivided attention. I can feel Sasuke's want for more pressing against my stomach. Not that I can say that I'm not much better off. Sasuke slightly bucks his hips that I'm still holding onto against my stomach, pressing me further against the chair.

He pulls away from the kiss, resting his forehead against mine again, leaving us both gasping for breath. "You liked that, didn't you?" He asks with a smirk on his face. Still a bit dazed, I nod. "We're not going to continue, not yet." I let out a whimper. "Why not?" I ask almost pleadingly.

"I love you, Naruto, I really do. But I don't think I want to go further yet." Sasuke says with a furrowed brow. He looks down for a bit before looking back up at me, determination burning in his eyes. "I first want to find out more about you, what you like, what you love. What you don't like... I wanna know your weak spots so I can use them all against you when we finally do continue. I can wait. I'll make you wait too." Sasuke has a glint in his eyes I haven't seen before. It's filled with lust and possessiveness, oh yeah, but there's more. There's an urge to show me how much he cares for me and a need to show me that I belong to him. In every way imaginable.

Sasuke breaks away from me, taking a step back, holding out his hand. "Come on, it's late and it was a long day. Let's get ready for bed. You wanna take a bath before we go to sleep?" I take his hand and nod. Before long, we are seated in a hot bath together. Sasuke let me set the temperature. He had some difficulty getting in the water because it was a little too hot for him. Now I'm leaning against him, his arms around my shoulders while I just have my eyes closed leaning against his hard chest. He slowly runs his fingers over tge scars that managed to stay on me and following the lines of my tattoos. He doesn't ask about them and I don't tell. It'll be a story for another time.

I can feel his every breath and it relaxes me beyond anything. After a couple of minutes, Sasuke grabs a bottle, and puts some of the content into my hair. He massages my head, nails slightly scraping my scalp. Not being able to hold back, I let myself purr at his touch. Sasuke's movements stop for a second, before I can feel him laugh a silent laugh and continue. Yeah, I purr, stupid fox has more influence on me then I'd like. **Hey, I heard that!** _Well, it's true!_ **Well, yeah, but don't make it sound like a bad thing!** "That's so cute." Sasuke whispers into my ear as he places kisses in the small of my neck. _I guess it's not that bad then..._

After getting out of the bath, Sasuke lends me one of his shirts and a clean boxer to sleep in. We snuggle into his one-person bed. Sasuke is soon asleep. I'm awake for another few hours, switching between staring at the ceiling and Sasuke's face. Still, it's so much better than being at home. Slowly, I drift off into a shallow sleep.

The next morning we are up and ready to go at six in the morning, standing on the bridge we use as our usual meeting point. We, as in Sasuke, Sakura and I, are waiting for Kaka-nii to finally show up. Of course, we expect him to be at least a few hours late. Sasuke uses the time to catch Sakura up on the events of last night after they all left. Apparently, Ino and Sakura already talks about it. When they found the time to to that, I will never know. Sakura started asking questions as soon as she saw us walking up to her. I let the answers over to Sasuke as I just stare off into the distance, leaning against the railing of the bridge.

Sakura walks up to me, placing a hand on my arm. I tense at the contact. Turning to look at her, I'm met with concern filled eyes. "Are you really okay?" She asks. "Yes, I am. They did not have the chance to harm me."

Unphased by my cold voice and emotionless face, she continues to worry over me. "Yeah, physically. But I mean mentally too. Are you alright?" I tilt my head sideways at her. "Yes, I am fine." At that moment, Kaka-nii makes an appearance.

"Hello my cute Genin, how are you this fine morning?"

I walk up to Kaka-nii and pull him down to my eye level. "And what's your excuse for being late this time?" I ask him with a dangerous glint in my eyes. Kaka-nii lets out a nervous laugh as he sweatdrops and sheepishly scratches the back of his neck. "Ah haha, well you see. I needed to be in a meeting with the Hokage and I forgot to inform you?" Kaka-nii is so nervous, his explaination ends up being a question. _Ah, so nice to see him squirm!_ I glare at him for a while. Then I let him go. "Anything interesting?"

"Well, you know, I c-can't really discuss that with Genin, now could I?" Kaka-nii tries hard to come off confident, but I know he is dreading my reaction to being called a Genin. I just look at him without any emotion, waiting for him to continue. "There is one thing. That's why I'm here." I pull up an eyebrow. "That's the only reason you're here?"

"N-no, of course not! I am also here because we agreed to meet here today!" Kaka-nii holds up his hands defensively. Sasuke walks up behind me, placing his arm around my waist, pulling me to him. I visibly relax at his touch and lean into him. There is slight amazement on Kaka-nii's face. "What is it that you wanted to tell us?" Sasuke asks.

"Right. The Chuunin exams are coming up. They are being held here and I've nominated the three of you to participate in them. This will not be an easy trail and you must know that you will be risking your lives. Think about it, and let me know your answers. Here are your forms. Have them signed and ready by tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon at one o'clock you will need to turn in the signed forms at the academy room 301." We pocket our forms and turn our attention back to Kaka-nii. "Alright, now for the rest of the day! Sasuke, I would like you to work with me on a jutsu I would like to teach you. Naru-chan, could you please work with Sakura on what we talked about before?" I give a short nod. Sasuke and Kaka-nii make their way to the next training field. "You really need to tell me how you get him to relax." I overhear Kaka-nii say to Sasuke once they are far away enough for Kaka-nii to think I can't hear him. I pick up a pebble and throw it at his head, hitting him pretty hard. Rubbing the back of his neck, he looks back at me but keeps walking. I hear Sasuke laugh, making me smile a bit as well.

I turn my attention to Sakura. She has an irksome expression on her face. "What did Kakashi-sensei mean with what you talked about before? You two are talking about me?"

In a voice that is a bit less cold then usual I explain it to Sakura. "I noticed your ability to perfectly control your chakra, meaning that you should either work on medical jutsu, because it required perfect chakra control, or learn how to strengthen your movements with chakra so that it can become useful in combat. Preferably, you should master both. Either way, in order to do those things in a way that it can become useful, you will need to expand your chakra reserves. Today I will teach you excercises that will help you do just that. They aren't hard, just exhausting. You can do them any time you want." During my explanation Sakura's expression changes from understanding to excited.

"Medical jutsu? That would be useful. Yeah, it would be nice to specialise in something." I nod at her. "So, what do I do?" She asks, eagerness burning in her eyes.

"The excercise is simple. You find something to empty your chakra into. What is best for you, you need to figure out yourself. For me, when I started this training, it was water walking. The principle behind it is that your body will make chakra to what you need. The more you spend on a regular basis, the more chakra your body will want to have in reserve. It will also teach your body to regenerate chakra more quickly. Start with finding an excercise to exhaust your chakra. I'll give you tips as we go."

Sakura picks the excercise up quickly. At noon Kaka-nii and Sasuke walk back to us for lunch. Sasuke gives me a bento and we sit down to eat. After lunch, we continue for another two hours. Sakura is exhausted at this point and I decide to call it quits. We walk over to Kaka-nii and Sasuke to let them know we were done for today.

"Will I see you at my place tonight?" Sasuke asks. I shake my head. "Not tonight. I have some things to do at home." I'm planning on working on the fox summoning contract again tonight. It has been a while and I would like to see Shoki again.

Sakura and I make our way into Konoha when we run into a guy in a cat-onesie and make-up all over his face. Next to him is a girl with too many ponytails looking impacient. The cat-guy is holding up a boy by the scruff of his neck. _I think I can play with that cat._ A sadistic smile crosses my face for a second before I go into my most feminine mode. I lean my hips to the side and put on an innocent face. "O my, Sakura, would you look at that poor boy." I gush in a soft and feminine voice at Sakura, catching her off guard a bit, but she quickly recovers. I see the eyes of the cat-boy shoot to me quickly. "I can't believe such a strong looking ninja would harm a child. It's so unsightly." I continue, pretending I didn't notice I had the full attention of the cat-guy. He quickly drops the kid, who shuffles over to us and hides behind my legs.

"He ran into me and didn't apologize. I just wanted to teach him a lesson." The cat-boy tells me. The boy behind my legs shakes his head furiously. "I did apologize! I even bowed my head!" He croaks. I switch my hips from one side to the other, hugging my waist with one arm, while I bring the other hand to my face, a finger on my cheek in a thinking pose. "My, who are we to believe in such a situation?" I look at Sakura. She's barely able to hold back a laugh as she looks at me. I walk to the cat-guy, rocking my hips back and forth. I place a hand on his chest. Despite the make-up, I see his face becoming red with a blush. "Tell me, kitten, did you just lie to me?" I ask him while looking at him big eyed.

He opens his mouth a few times, gaping like a fish, unable to lie to me now, but also unwilling to admit that he just did. The girl steps in and I look at her. "Would you kindly get your hands off of my brother?" She says with venom in her voice. "Temari, it's fine. She isn't doing anything wrong." I look back at the cat-boy, who seems more than happy to have gained back my attention. "Kankuro, we're not here to make friends!" Temari hisses at her brother.

"Kankuro, hnn, tell me, did you lie to me just now?" I ask again, bringing my face a bit closer to his. He nods. I immediately step back, dropping the act and going back to my emotionless face. "Thought so." I say in a cold voice. I can see a shiver run down the spine of both Temari and Kankuro. The boy steps behind Sakura due to my sudden change.

I suddenly tense up. _What is that?_ I feel a presence not far from us. I turn around and look in the tree behind Sakura. A red-headed boy a little older than me is sitting in the tree. He disappears in a swirl of sand and reappears next to Kankuro and Temari. "Stop causing trouble, get to the hotel." He says in a cold voice that rivals my own. Kankuro and Temari can only nod, fear evident on their faces. "Yes, Gaara." They say in unison. Sakura and the boy back away a bit from the pressing aura radiating off the red-headed boy. **Heads up, kit, that's my brother!** _What?_ Gaara turns around to face me. His cold eyes staring into mine. My hands are at my side open like I have claws at the ready. Gaara has sand flowing around him. Slowly, but surely, I take a sideways step. He mimics my motion. We circle each other, like predators rivaling over a pray. I let out a low animalistic growl while he remains silent. We both start releasing killer intent. Saruka, the boy and the siblings back up further away from us in fear.

After a couple more paces, we jump towards each other, stopping in the middle, a gust of wind pushing away the sand that was around us. Staring each other in the eyes from a very short distance I let out a hiss. If I had fox ears, they would be flat against my head right now. After a couple of seconds of intense staring, Gaara is the one to back down first, pulling back his killer intent. He lowers his head ever so slightly in defeat. I accept this sign of defeat and also pull back my killer intent. **That was** **impressive** **, kit.** _Why thank you!_ **I mean it, that was some good instincts. I'm glad I'm rubbing off on you more and more.** _I'm not even going to respond to that..._

I reach a hand out to Gaara. A bit hesitantly, he takes it. "Welcome to Konoho, Gaara, the secret you carry is safe with me. I expect the same courtesy back." He looks at me in surprise. "Try not to kill anyone during your stay here. Especially not someone that I would consider a friend." I add in my cold voice. Gaara nods before walking to the siblings and quickly disappearing.

I turn back to Sakura. "W-what just happend?" She asks. "An understanding." I simply say.

"Ano, thank you." The boy behind Sakura says. I let my eyes drift to him. He hides a bit behind Sakura. Sakura looks back at the boy. "O, don't worry." She starts. "Naruto won't harm you! What's your name?"

"Konohamaru."

"Alright, Konohamaru, why don't you go home now?" Sakura says in a sweet tone. Konohamaru looks at me. "Your strong, aren't you?" He asks. I nod. "Can you help me train?" I tilt my head at him. "Why?" I ask. He takes a step back at the coldness in my voice.

"S-so I can be strong!" He says. "I don't want to be seen as the grandson of the Third hokage, I want to be my own person! Prove I'm worthy and capable by myself!" I tilt my head to the other side. _Oh, the things I could teach a young and impressionable mind..._ "Okay. When I have time, I will teach you. It will have to wait untill after the Chuunin exams, though." _Maybe I can have a Genin team, like Kaka-_ _nii_ _. I'll make them into perfect little murder machines..._ **I don't think that's what they should be taught...** _Ah, well, we'll see._

After that, we all head home. After making sure all the seals are in place and working properly, I summon Shoki and we talk for a while. I'm teaching her to speak our language and she is teaching me to understand the fox language. Of course, this is with the help of Kurama, who is functioning as a translator. After that Shoki tells me the fox counsel is planning the trails of strength for me in a few months. She assures me it's sooner than anyone has expected.

Happy with the progress we made today, Shoki takes her leave. It's now eleven o'clock in the evening. Since I can't sleep I spent my time working on a few other scrolls. I've recently 'acquired' a few new scrolls from the Hokage's library without his knowledge. Of course, the previously borrowed pieces have been properly returned...

When morning nears, I meditate for an hour. My thoughts linger on Sasuke for a bit. My cheeks colour red in a blush when I think back on the last kiss we shared. He is so completely dominant, yet he does things he does because he thinks I like them. I love it. I love him. Only he can make me feel the way I feel around him. Safe, loved, treasured. So, so much more than that, it's indescribable.

After that, my thoughts wander to Sakura. How did she know about what happened in the alley? The only thing I can think of is that Ino went to her after she left Sasuke's. I'd have to ask her about why they would meet up in the middle of the night after such a busy day as the Kyuubi festival. Especially since they were so opposed to each other in the academy. I would expect them to keep away from each other if they had the choice.

After a while I decide it's time to get ready for the day. I take a shower and get dressed. My eyes fall on a scroll I was working on last night. Since we are to meet at one o'clock this afternoon, I'll have some time right now to study it a bit further. It was a bit troublesome for me last night. Especially because it's made for a chakra affinity I don't have. It will require a lot more work to get this jutsu down.

Just as I am about to sit down, there is an urgent knock on the door. I get up to open the door. I can sense it's Sasuke. With a small smile on my face, I push chakra in the seal and open the door. What I see before me makes fear close around my heart. Sasuke is standing before me, looking exhausted. The gray shirt he has on is blood soaked from his shoulder down. I can see wounds around his neck. "Sasuke? What happened? Why are you bleeding?" I ask worried.


	11. A nightmare (Sasuke special)

Sasuke wakes up from a sound, causing him to bold upright in his bed. It wasn't a loud sound, but still, his heart is racing. It's still the middle of the night. The Uchiha compound is always silent. He's the only one there. So what was that sound? With a groan, he falls back into his bed. Must have been nothing. Slowly, he starts to drift back to sleep. Before his eyes are fully closed however, he hears the sound again. It sounds like metal scraping against stone. A slow, even scrape singing through the cold night air. It sounds like it comes from outside. Sasuke gets up from his bed and looks out of his window into the well lit streets. There is nothing there. He decides to go back to bed. Soon, he is asleep again. 

The next morning Sasuke is up early. His sleep had been restless and not having the patience with himself to try and sleep some more, he decided to get ready for the day. Besides, it's not that early anymore. Might as well make the most of a long day. After using the toilet and a quick shower, Sasuke makes his way downstairs. He makes himself a quick breakfast and is about to sit down when a strong feeling of being watched washes over him, enough to make his breath catch in his throat. He whips around quickly, but there is nothing there. Looking around nothing seems to be any different than normal. 

Shrugging it off, he sits down, places his coffee and his plate in front of him as he picks up a scroll Kakashi-sensei had given him the previous day. He'd have time to study it today, seeing as they planned to meet at one o'clock at the academy. 

There is a 'thnk' sound behind him, like a tea spoon dropping in the sink. Again, Sasuke whips around and again nothing seems out of place. His heart rate is slightly elevated and his nerves are on edge. What is going on here? 

He gets up and looks in the sink. Nothing. The sink is empty. Slowly, Sasuke turns around and returns to his breakfast and scroll. Still the uneasy feeling is clinging to him. As he is about to make a grab for his coffee, he realises it's not on the table. "What the..." He looks around again. He spots his coffee mug precariously perched on the edge of the sink. There is no way the mug could stay in that position! Sasuke reaches out to grab the mug, but before he can touch it, the mug suddenly drops into the sink with a clatter, causing Sasuke to jump back a bit in fright. Softly cursing under his breath for being scared that easily, he again makes his way to the sink and looks in it. Again, the sink is empty. No trace of the mug or the coffee it contained. A shiver runs down Sasuke's spine. 

He quickly finishes breakfast, skipping coffee altogether and decides he'll go into town to look for Naruto. Yeah, his blonde boyfriend would love it if he showed up unannounced. Sasuke has a small smile playing on his lips in anticipation of Naruto's reaction. Maybe he could even get Naruto to spent the night here with him. Not that he's afraid to be alone, of course not! But some company, especially from Naruto, would be nice for today. Sasuke pockets the scroll before washing his dishes. As he is with his back to the table, he hears a small thud behind him. The small sound makes a shiver run up his spine. For the third time that day, he whips around and looks around. He spots his coffee mug in the exact middle of the table, hot coffee still damping in it, but nothing else seems out of place. 

Walking sideways while keeping his eyes on the mug, Sasuke makes his way out of the kitchen and into the hallway. This is just creepy. The sink full of half-cleaned dishes forgotten. 

He turns around and walks to his bedroom a little faster than he'd like to admit. He needs a different shirt if he is to see Naruto today. He got out a dark gray shirt that matches his eyes well. At least, he thought so. Of course, the Uchiha crest was on the back of it in red and white. Happy with his shirt, he goes into his bathroom to check his hair and brush his teeth. 

As he looks into the mirror, he notices the reflection of his own shadow. It seems a bit off. Like it's a fraction of a second behind on his motions. Or is it a fraction of a second before he himself moves? He doesn't know. What with everything that had already happened today, maybe he also didn't want to know. While brushing his teeth, he keeps an eye on his shadow dancing behind him in the mirror. Then, when he puts away his toothbrush, he looks away from the mirror for a split second. The creepy sensation of being watched is back again. As Sasuke moves back into the view of the mirror, he notices it's not just his shadow that seems to be out of sync with him. His actual reflection was not moving with him!

Sasuke gulps. As he is staring at himself in the mirror, he can't help but feel like the image in the mirror is staring to stare back at him. Blinking at him. His heart is beating in his throat, his breathing is faster then normal. Suddenly he realises that the shadow in the mirror has gotten bigger, engulfing the Sasuke in the mirror. A dark presence looming over his reflection, making his reflection look small and vulnerable. Seeing this triggers a pressing feeling over himself, like his real shadow has decided to mirror the mirror. Involuntarily, Sasuke holds his breath, unable to move. The shadow seems to stretch out towards him, like small hands slowly reaching out to him. Not wanting to look away from the mirror, but also feeling a very strong urge to look behind him, Sasuke doesn't move for a few seconds. Adrenaline is rushing through him like mad. Not untill the shadow seems to grab the face of his reflection can he no longer stand his own indecisiveness and he looks behind him.

Nothing. His shadow is normal. He looks back into the mirror. Everything seems to be back to normal again there too. A sense of relief washes over him. He let's out the breath he had been holding. This is ridiculous! Someone is pulling a prank on him or something, right? Like a Genjutsu? Yeah, that must be it. If he could only find the source, he'd be able to dispell it. With some newfound courage, Sasuke sets out to search his house for a possible source of the Genjutsu he must be in.

Thinking it must have something to do with the sounds outside from last night, Sasuke makes his way to the front door. He puts effort into walking at a normal pace. If it is a prank, there's no way in hell he's gonna show he's even slightly unnerved by this all. He's shown enough of that as it is. Reaching the front door, he fumbles with the lock, noticing his hands are a bit shaky. "Damn it." He curses softly. Why can't he get this open? He always leaves the keys in the inside lock of the door, so he only needs to turn the key, but it's not moving. Taking the key out of the lock to look at the key and finding nothing wrong with it, he now finds himself unable to get the key back into the lock. It's like the lock has been filled with something. 

As he makes a last attempt, he hears a shuffling sound behind him. Footsteps. Light, slow, evenly paced footsteps that ever so slightly drag their feet with each step, slowly but steadily getting closer, the pressing presence back. Breath hitching in his throat, Sasuke is frozen in place. Before the boy can work up the nerves to turn around, he feels a breath hit the back of his neck. He sees his hair move with the breath. It's cold, soundless, sending shivers down his spine in fear. With big eyes Sasuke is staring at the door where a dark shadow, much bigger than his own and somehow darker is looming over him. Sasuke struggles to keep his breathing even. He can feel the eyes of whatever is behind him sting in the back of his neck, causing the small hairs there to rise. 

"It's not real." He tells himself. "It's not real, there's nothing there when I turn around, it's a prank, it's not real." Hoping his chant will help him find some courage, he moves to turn around. Before he can move much, though, a hand is placed on his neck. A cold hand. He can feel long nails scraping the sensitive skin of his neck. There's no force in the grip. Just a hand placed on his neck. He lets out a small yelp before he covers his mouth with his hand and he closes his eyes. Genjutsu's can't have physical contact, unless it's extremely powerful. There's no way for him to break such a strong Genjutsu! 

While trying to calm his breath, he does the only think he can think of. He puts a foot against the door and in one strong kick, jumps backwards, hopefully catching whatever it is off guard. As soon as he puts strength into his jump though, it's gone. The hand in his neck, the shadow, the presence, gone. Because of the force of his kick-jump, Sasuke falls back onto his back, skidding backwards a few feet and he immediately looks behind him into the hallway. Nothing. Again nothing. 

What can he do now? His best option is probably to get out of the house, but the door is not opening. The back door would mean he'd need to go all the way to the other side of the house, and it's not a small house. The idea of walking through the corridor past all the rooms made him shutter a bit. A window then? Since the kitchen is no longer considered an option, the living room would be the closest option. Gathering his courage, Sasuke heaves himself to his feet and makes his way down the corridor to the living room. The door is slightly ajar. The window has the curtains pulled shut, making it quite dark in the room, despite it being day. Staring at the darkness behind the door there is doubt in Sasuke whether or not to enter the room. Then again, the kitchen, bathroom and corridor weren't dark, so why would a little darkness be more scary? He just needs to open the door further, walk in, pull open the curtains and open the window and get out. Can't be that hard, right?

Right. Then why is he still standing there, holding his breath and slightly shaking? He closes his eyes as he drags a hand down his face, letting his hand rest on his mouth as he brings his other hand up to move the door. With a push the door slides open. Peering into the darkness, everything seems to be fine. With a doubtful first step, Sasuke enters the living room. With a quick pase, he's at the curtains in seconds, pulling it open fast.

There's no window. How can there be no window? Sasuke's hands quickly search the wall for any sign of something that's off, but he finds nothing, leaving him standing in a dark room with only one way out. Looking at said way out, the door seems to be slowly closing, the soft scraping noise of wood on wood sounding deafening to Sasuke. A shadow of a hand is on the handle of the door. The hand is attached to a tall, dark figure dressed in a black outfit that hides most of his features. Once the door is closed, the room is even darker than is was before, but Sasuke is quickly getting used to the darkness. Wide eyed and listening intensely, Sasuke is trying to pinpoint where the cloaked figure is. But the room is silent. The darkness seems to grow more intense, taking away what little vision Sasuke has. 

Just before he cannot make out anything anymore, the figure suddenly moves towards him. With a small scream, Sasuke dives out of the way. Feeling his way along the walls, he tries to get back to the door while listening for any movement. His heart is racing so hard and loud that Sasuke doubts he would hear anything, his heavy breathing blocking out the rest of the sounds. But still, it is his only sense at the moment he can use. 

He feels his way past the cupboard he knows is next to the door, but when his fingers find the wall again, there is no door. He lets out a desperate whimper. Sasuke turns his back to the wall where the door should be and leans against it closing his eyes. Despite the dark, closing his eyes helps him concentrate better on hearing. There is a thud and soon the smell of coffee hits his nostrils. Sasuke furrows his brow in confusion. The thud is followed by a scaping sound of the mug being pushed over the table. Then a clatter of the mug breaking on the floor. The sound of the cup breaking makes Sasuke flinch. Then the shuffling footsteps are there again. Slowly... Slowly the feet are dragged in his direction. With every step the footsteps get closer, Sasuke feels more and more panic building up. His breathing is becoming quicker and more shallow and he is frozen in fear. 

Again, a clawed hand lands on his neck. The thumb of the hand is pushing against his jaw to tilt his face to the side and in utter fear, Sasuke doesn't fight against is. A finger with a sharp nail lands on his neck, slowly dragging it down. Sasuke can feel his skin open and a small amount of blood dripping down his neck slowly. The figure before him let's out a hissing breath close to Sasuke's exposed and bleeding neck, causing a shiver to run up Sasuke's spine before he feels something wet and warm pressing against the bleeding wound, moving slowly upwards in a licking motion. Sasuke lets out a smothered sound of disgust as he suddenly finds some strength again and kicks the figure back with as much force as possible. As he does so, the wall behind him buckles and swings open. The door is suddenly back in place and open. The windows as well. Light flows into the room, blinding Sasuke for a second before he can look around the room and finds it... empty... Nothing again. Looking around the table, there is no broken mug or any sign of coffee being spilled. 

After making sure there is nothing out of place, Sasuke bolts straight for the window, only to find himself unable to open them. A desperate and frustrated growl escapes him as he feels a few tears stinging in his eyes. He can't get out. He's trapped. Whatever is in here with him... He can't even think of what will happen. He sits down in a corner of the room with his eyes fixed on the door and his legs pulled up to his chest. Sasuke is at a loss. He doesn't know what to do now. The possibility of being able to get another window or door open doesn't seem likely to him. 

Still, he needs to get out. It wouldn't do him any good to wait for that thing to come to him again. Besides, what was he gonna do, sit and wait to be rescued like some princess in a tower? No, definitely not! That would not suite him in any way, not even if is was his Naruto that would come to his rescue. He's a ninja. Risking his life was part of his job description. He can get out of here. There must be a way. Just stay calm and think.

Getting up, he makes his way across the living room back into the corridor. He deliberately closes the door behind him. He's going to check every room untill he finds a room with a window he can get open or untill he reaches the back door. Whichever one comes first. With his heart in his throat he makes his way to the next door. It's Itachi's old bedroom. He hasn't been in here since his brother left. Slowly turning the knob of the door, the door opens with a creak from lack of use. The room is exactly as he remembers, albeit that it looks smaller and it is now covered in a thick layer of dust. Happy memories tainted by the last memory of his brother play quickly through his mind, ending with a strong image of Itachi standing over his dead and bloodied parents. Sasuke takes a deep breath and walks into the room straight for the window. He leaves footprints in the dust covering the floor. After a few attempts to get the window open, Sasuke accepts the fact that this will not be his escape route. 

He turns around to make his way back out of the room. He would very much like to leave this room alone again as he has done for the past few years. Suddenly the feeling of being watched is back again. He looks down at the dusty floor. He sees his own footprints. And a second pair of footprints. Those footprints only go to halfway across the room and then just stop. No footprints leading back, no footprints going anywhere else. The footprints look human except for the fact that there are five extra marks in front of the feet, indicating claw prints, much like the nails of a dog would leave. The thing in his house is walking around barefoot and did not only have clawed hands. 

Sasuke looks around. Nothing, again. Yet the feeling of being watched is as strong as it was at the front door. He walks slowly and carefully to the door, ready to react to anything... he hopes. As he passes the point where the footprints stop, he sees movement in the corner of his eyes, like the flick of a tail. He quickly turns around. Nothing. There can't be nothing, he just saw something move. His eyes shift from left to right searching for anything out of place untill a thought hit him. Slowly, he looks up. An unfocused, distorted shadowy figure is lying against the ceiling, facing Sasuke. The face is not visible because of a black cloak, the clawed hands and feet are digging into the ceiling as the figure is keeping itself up there. A black bushy tail is hanging limply down its side, the tip flicking lazily. As Sasuke looks at it, it drops down onto him. A lot more force and weight than expected hit Sasuke, causing him to get knocked to the floor with the figure standing over him, a foot on either side of his hips. Dust whips into the air, landing in his eyes blurring his vision as tears form. The dust also fills his nose and mouth making it difficult to breath.

The figure crouches over Sasuke, bringing its face down close to him. Sasuke tries to scramble back, but the figure grabs his shoulder with its clawed hand, digging the pointy nails through his shirt and into his shoulder and it drops itself onto its knees, pinning Sasuke's arms down and sitting down on Sasuke's stomach. The shirt slowly soaks red with blood. Sasuke breath is stuttering and ragged by fear and dust as he looks up through his tears at the face still hidden underneath a cloak, unable to move. A cold breath hits his face again. Sasuke closes his eyes. The hand releases his shoulder, the nails are pulled out painfully making Sasuke groan, and its hand trails to his neck again, pushing on his face to move it to the side. Sasuke, being more desperate and a little more brave then last time, struggles against the forceful hand. Its other hand is brought up to his face, grabbing Sasuke's jaw over his mouth blocking even more of the breath Sasuke was already struggling for and pulls his face aside, further restraining Sasuke's movement. Again, a nail is scraped across the soft skin of his neck, this time on the other side of his neck. Fresh blood is trailing after the nail and the nail is followed by a tongue once more. Sharp canine teeth lightly scrape his neck as the tongue slides up his neck. With a muffled scream, Sasuke bites down hard on the soft part of the hand that is still covering his mouth, earning a loud hiss from the figure over him. It jumps back and disappears into smoke. 

Sasuke just lies there on his back for a few seconds, catching his breath and blinking fast to get the dust out of his eyes. A metallic taste is filling his mouth. He bit hard enough to break through skin. Sasuke turns around and spits out the blood. He quickly gets up, runs out of the room and heads into the corridor again, slamming the door shut behind him. At a running pace, Sasuke goes around the house opening each door and only quickly looking around, not even trying the windows. Right now, he just wants to find something, anything that might be the cause of this. 

Sasuke hasn't found anything. There is only one room left to check and that's the training room. A big, open room with multiple doors to the outside training area that's also used as a back entrance into the house. Sasuke opens the door to the training room and walks in. This is the last place he could find something, if there is anything to find. Walking in he spots an item in the middle of the room giving off a faint blue glow. Puzzled he looks at the item and gets a little closer to it. He recognises it as a music box he bought on the Kyuubi festival market. He planned on making it a Christmas gift to Naruto. The music in the box was a soothing lullaby reminding Sasuke of a song his mother used to sing. He had sung it to Naruto a couple of times when the blond found it impossible to sleep. Now, here it is, lying on the floor, glowing an eery blue hue. The music box is open, but no music is playing despite the parts inside moving properly. In fact, the silence is pressing. Sasuke looks around again, left, right and up. Nothing. By now he knows that's not saying much, but at least he checked. 

Sasuke shuffles closer to the music box. The closer he gets, the more aware he becomes that the silence is truly silent. Not even his own footsteps seem to make a sound. His heart beat, though he can still feel its elevated pace in his throat, is no longer pounding in his ears. He reaches for the music box. The blue hue around it becomes more intense. Suddenly, something heavy hits him back, flinging him aside like he's nothing. He smacks into a wall. "Sssstaayy awayy." A hissing voice says. The cloaked figure is standing defensively in front of the music box. It's a lot more solid than it had seemed in Itachi's bedroom. "What do you want?" Sasuke yells out. No answer is given. "What do you want?" His voice a little more desperate sounding than he would have liked. 

The cloaked figure stands up straight. Its full length almost reaching the ceiling. It stalks closer to Sasuke, who is still down on the ground. Towering over the boy, the figure leans over Sasuke. Sasuke feels overpowered and small under the gaze of the figure. "Hhome." It hisses, struggling to form the words. "Home?" Sasuke repeats a bit surprised. The tail of the figure flicks behind him. "How?" The figure points at Sasuke. "Blood." It hisses. Sasuke gulps. The figure in the cloak seems to await Sasuke's reaction, but he doesn't move. He just looks at the figure, fear pumping through his veins along with adrenaline. Sasuke now notices the hand is as black as the tail of the figure. It steps closer to Sasuke, causing Sasuke to kick his heels to quickly back away as much as he can. He hits the wall and closes his eyes, waiting for the claws to sink into him again like they did before, but nothing happens. Sasuke opens his eyes to find the cloaked figure on its knees in front of him, its hands on either side of Sasuke's legs and its face way to close for comfort to Sasuke's face. Sasuke moves his face back and sideways to get as far away as possible, but he doesn't have much space to work with. 

The figure lifts up a hand and slowly pulls its hood back, revealing a furry black fox-like face, whiskers and pointy ears and all. Sasuke's breath catches in his throat and is eyes widen in understanding. A fox. Definitely not a normal fox, but still a fox. A trickster probably. Not much is knows about foxes as there is about other Ninja summons, but they are known for their love of pranking people, even going as far as Genjutsu's. It should be easy for a fox to get back home, though. They don't have summoning contracts, so nothing binds them into staying. "Why are you here? Why can't you go home?" The fox looks at Sasuke and slowly blinks it's slitted yellow eyes. It points behind him at the music box. "Trrrap." The word sounds like a purr coming from the throat of the fox. "And you need my blood?" 

"Yess." It hisses.

"Why?"

"Brreak." The R is like a purr again, while the K is cut off sharply. 

"But I didn't make that. My blood wouldn't work, right?" The fox hisses in frustration.

"Trryy." The fox grabs Sasuke by his throat, claws digging into his skin as he started dragging Sasuke across the floor towards the music box.

"No... no! Stop, wait! I can help, I'll help." Sasuke pleads while struggling against the grip and to breath. Sasuke's nails dig into the black skin of the hand around his neck, but the only reaction he got from the fox was a more powerful grip on his throat and a low hiss. "Please, just let go. I'll help you!" Sasuke struggles to speak but manages to say his plead anyway. 

The fox looks at Sasuke, yellow eyes searching the boy's face for any sign of dishonesty while relaxing his grip on the boy's throat. After sucking in a few lung fulls of air, Sasuke continues his pleading. "My blood won't work. You know that. Please, I can help, just... just let go of me." The fox doesn't move but also doesn't press on anymore. "You can trust me." Sasuke adds seeing the doubtful look on the fox's face. 

Sasuke scrapes together his courage and raises up a hand, lightly pushes against the chest of the fox to get it to back off while grabbing the wrist of the hand around his neck and pulling it away at the same time. The fox lets him go and backs up a bit. Sasuke stands there to catch his breath while keeping an eye on the fox. He takes a few more quivering breaths before he looks straight at the fox. Sasuke may have made a promise in fear just now, but he isn't one to back up on his words, leaving him no options but to at least try and figure something out. "I'm going to look at the music box. Maybe I can figure out what the trap is." Sasuke backs up towards the music box, but the fox bristles and moves towards him again. "Not touch, trrrap." Its grumbling voice now sounds less threatening , starring at Sasuke with unsettling and unblinking yellow eyes.

Sasuke swallows and nods. "Okay, I won't touch it." Sasuke gets as close as he dares to go to the music box as the fox starts pasing up and down behind him, giving off the strong impression it's ready to jump Sasuke as soon as he does something the fox doesn't like. Sasuke notices drawings on the music box he hasn't seen on it before the blue hue that remind him strongly of the seals around Naruto's apartment. "Seals. I can't do anything with this. I'll need someone to help with this." Sasuke muttered to himself before turning his attention back to the fox. "Let me out, I'll go get someone who is a master with seals. He is a bit hard on the outside, but he really is a softy. Please? If I ask, he will help." 

The fox stalks closer to Sasuke, growling low in his throat. Sasuke takes a step back. "Promisss." Sasuke nods, taken aback a bit by the willingness of the fox to let him go on something as simple as a promise. Still, even if the fox didn't fully trust him and just couldn't see another way, Sasuke would still fulfill a promise he makes. "Yes, I promise I'll be back as soon as I can." The fox huffs and backs up. With another growl a barrier that has been on the inside of the house ripples and disappears. Sasuke starts to walk out of his house, but stops. He looks back at the fox that seems a lot less threatening and a lot more docile now. "What's your name?" The fox perks up a bit. "Ferrin." 

"Okay, Ferrin, I'm Sasuke. I'm going to look for Naruto. I'll bring him back as soon as I can." Sasuke quickly makes his way outside and looks for Naruto. The first place he checks is Naruto's apartment an as luck would have it, Naruto is home. "Sasuke? What happened? Why are you bleeding?" Naruto asks worried.

"I bought a music box at the Kyuubi festival. I didn't notice. The seals on it, I mean. Now I have a black fox in my house who tried to get my blood by scaring me shitless in order to break the seal. I'm gonna have nightmares... Anyway, I'll explain more later. Come help me, I know you can break the seal, set the fox free." Sasuke says quickly while panting. 

"Okay, show me." Sasuke grabs the edge of Naruto's sleeve and begins pulling him towards his house. He walks past the front door to the backyard and they enter into the training room. A black fox is sitting in the middle of the room, tail curling around him. There is no trace left of the humanoid form Sasuke had seen him as.

"Ferrin, this is Naruto. He can help." Sasuke says to the fox while keeping a noticable distance. Naruto looks at the fox. He's a pretty one. Naruro walks over to him and crouches down a bit. "Do you know Shoki, by any chance? She's a fox I met a while back. She was trapped too by some seals on her collar. I also know Kurama, if that name rings a bell." Naruto says in a calm voice, trying to assure Ferrin he means no harm. Ferrin gives a small nod. "Okay, so where's your binding seal?" Ferrin looks at the music box and Sasuke gestures towards it at the same time. Naruto makes his way over to the box and looks at it. "It's a complicated seal, but not impossible to break." He mutters before he starts drawing more seals around it and after an hour of work, he presses charka into the catalyst seal, which causes all the other seals to activate, slowly breaking down the seals on the music box. Over the course of another hour, the blue hue turns orange before disappearing completely. The music box starts to play the tune it is meant to play. "Thankss." Ferrin hisses before he disappears in a cloud of smoke. 

"Well, that was fast." Sasuke comments. 

"It's not good for Ninja summons to be out of their world for too long. Let alone sealed into something else. Poor thing." A grin appears on Naruto's face. "So what was that you said about him scaring you shitless? O, I would have loved to see you squirm! I bet your face was so cute scrunched up in fear!" He lets out a small giggle.

"I bet you would have." Sasuke chuckles a bit. "I am gonna be sore in the morning, though." Sasuke says while placing a hand on his injured shoulder. 

The grin drops from Naruto's face. "Tsk, he harmed you. Maybe I shouldn't have helped him." Naruto walks over to Sasuke and studies his neck. On both sides is a long thin scratch and a few nail marks. Thank Kami it's not bleeding anymore. The claw mark on his shoulder, however, will need some treatment. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Sasuke nods. "After that, tell me everything!" Naruto says like a girl ready to gossip about the latest scandal while dragging Sasuke to the bathroom.


	12. The Chuunin exams

_O my god! Sasuke must have been so cute this morning!_ _Whyy_ _..._ _Whyy_ _did I not go to his place last night?_ **HAHAHA, really kit, only you would love to see your lover terrified!** _Ow, come on! Like you wouldn't want to see that too!_ **Yeah I would, but I want to see that for a whole different reason, I assure you!** _Hmpf_... _Hey_ , _maybe_ _I can get_ _Shoki_ _to help me scare Sasuke some time?_ I hear Kurama sigh in the back of my head. **Whatever you want kit, just make sure not to break the poor kid!** He says exasperated. _Ow, come on, it'd be just a bit of fun!_ **Right, right...**

While I was treating Sasuke's shoulder, Sasuke told me about what happened. I'm sure he left out more than a few details, especially about how scared he actually was, but I got the gist of it. I'll have to ask Shoki about Ferrin next time we meet. Maybe I can even try summoning Ferrin. After treating his wounds, I decided to stick around until we need to go to the first part of the Chuunin exam. Sasuke doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he seems relieved that I invited myself to stay. 

Sasuke is in the kitchen making us some lunch. He still seems a little jumpy after what happened to him this morning, giving me a little more insight as to what really happened this morning.

"I get the feeling you don't want to be alone tonight..." I say in a teasing tone, watching him moving around the kitchen with practiced ease. 

"You would be... not... wrong..." Sasuke admits a bit reluctantly. He looks back at me. "You'll stay with me tonight?" His command comes out more like a question.

"Well, it will depend on what the exams bring, but since you're telling me to do so, I think I can manage that." While I talk, Sasuke has the food ready and plated and walks over to me. He places a plate with rice and curry in front of me and sits down next to me with his own plate. We eat in a comfortable silence. Me, for a change, without having any nausiousness. I've noticed more and more that if Sasuke is the one to give me the food, I have little to no trouble eating it. Hell, he's given me stuff I even enjoyed eating! 

I get up to do the dishes. Sasuke is just sitting there, watching me move around the kitchen, a small smirk on his face and completely silent. "What?" I ask him without looking back. He just slightly shakes his head and keeps staring at me. 

"What?" I ask again.

"Nothing." I continue with the dishes while Sasuke keeps smirking at me. 

"Well, there must be something with you smirking like that at me." I look back at him. 

"Nope, just watching you..." He moves himself into a more comfortable position, ready to watch me move around some more.

Instead of letting him get to me, I decide to tease him a bit. "Hmm, so, like what you see?" I ask wiggling my hips a bit. 

Sasuke gains a small blush on his face. "Huh, I guess you do." I throw a dishcloth in his face. "Well, if you can sit there and smirk, you can help me." Sasuke gets up and stands next to me, drying the dishes I clean. Within five minutes we're done. Sasuke gives me instuctions as to where everything should be put away. "So you know for next time." He gives as an explanation for making me put everything away. One particular dish, the last dish, seemingly has a place in one of the higher cabinets, making me stretch far enough for my shirt to rise up a bit, showing some skin. I can feel Sasuke's eyes burning into my skin as that smirk of his returns to his face. He walks up to me and runs the tips of his fingers over my exposed side ever so softly. I twitch a bit at the tickling sensention running through my skin followed by goosebumps. I turn away from his touch while pushing his hand away. Pulling my clothes back into place, I pout at Sasuke for a bit. Sasuke just has a smile on his face. "Well, there's something I can use..." He says before kissing the tip of my nose and walking away from me. I just stare after him a bit. _That's... gonna be bad..._

"Come on, we're gonna be late for the exam." Sasuke calls out to me. Snapping out of my thoughts, I walk after him. We meet Sakura at the doors of the academy. "What room did we need to go to again?" Sasuke asks. "301." Sakura answers. "Okay, let's go." Sasuke grabs my hand and I let him pull me along again. I'm still not entirely sure why I let him do that, but I really don't mind anymore at this point. 

There is a crowd in front of a door and two people standing in front of it, keeping the others out. Sakura seems to be debating whether or not we need to try to get through this, or wait untill others do it for us. "Look closer." I whisper to her. After looking at me, she looks back, focussing on her surroundings better then before. Her eyes drift to the room next to this one. "202. That's not right, all rooms on the third floor should be starting with a 3." She whispers. She looks further down the hall. 203, 204 and 205 are visible. She looks back at us. "Wrong floor?" She asks in whisper. I nod. "Let's leave them here and head upstairs." Sasuke whispers, turning around and heading back to the stairs. 

As we approach the real room 301, Kaka-nii pops up in front of us. I can make out that he is smiling, his eye crinkles up from the smile. "Great, you're here! And all three of you! If one of you had decided not to take the exam, all three of you would have been unable to enter. Now get ready! The first exam is about to begin! Ja ne." With that, he disappears as fast as he appeared before. Sasuke and Sakura both take a deep breath and I completely fall back into my cold act. Sasuke and Sakura each push open one of the double doors and I walk in through between them. I see the people inside looking at me like I just made my teammates open the doors for me. Sasuke and Sakura follow me, half a step behind me, enhancing that impression. I don't mind. Let them think that. If they see me as the leader, the higher the chance is I'll be their target. _That should be fun!_ The rest of the rookie 12 are already there. We walk up to them. Ino gives me a warm smile and the rest greet us. I see Ino's eyes wander to Sakura for a second, looking her up and down quickly, before she turns to talk to her teammates again. Sakura gains a small blush, but supresses it quickly.

They are all animatedly talking when a unfamiliar leaf ninja interrupts us. "You know, you're not really making friends in this room by being loud." He says. We follow his gaze into the room. Everybody seems to be glaring at us for disturbing their brooding mood as they are waiting for the exams to start. "Should we care?" I ask in a cold voice, making the leaf ninja take a step back. "Well, you know, I just thought you would like to know. I've been through these exams before. It can't harm to be a bit... invisible, if you know what I mean." 

"Oh, you've done this before? Do you have any tips?" Tenten asks. 

"No, no real tips exept to stay alert. I can give you some information on the other ninja here if you'd like, though." Shikamaru senses a chance to get some information on me. "Okay, what do you have on Uzumaki Naruto?" He asks. 

"Just him? Nobody else?" He asks a bit confused. Jiji said all my records were to be wiped at my twelfth birthday, so there should be nothing out of the ordinary there, just the missions I did as part of team 7 and my horrible academy records. Time to find out if that's true. Also, if this person does have information on me, I'll have to stop him before he can say anything and I'll have a nice little toy for Ibiki-nii...

The rest of the rookie 12 stay quiet. "Okay then, just Uzumaki Naruto, was it?" Shikamaru nods. The leaf ninja gets out a deck of cards and starts shuffling it, trying to impress us with the speed in which he does so. He fishes out one card from the pile and holds it up between two fingers impressively. I grab the fingers he's holding the card in with a strong grip, squeezing hard enough to break his fingers as indicated by the snapping sounds. He winces, so do a few of the rookie 12 and a few others that are nearby enough to hear the bones snapping. "What's your name?" 

"K-kabuto." He croaks out. 

"Alright Kabuto, listen to me carfully. I do not take kindly to traitors. There could be information on that card that is not supposed to be known. If there is, you are a traitor and I will make sure you never see the light of day again, one way or another. On the other hand, if there is not, I will have the answer to a question I've been thinking about for a while and I just might let you go then. Now, I suggest you make the information visible and hand that card over to me." I tell him in a whisper for only him to hear. His eyes widen at every word I say. I let go of his hand. He winces again before pushing some chakra into the card and placing it facedown on the floor for me to pick up. I notice him trying to back up, so I shoot him a glare. He freezes in his movements. I pick up the card and see my whole history, from the moment I entered the ANBU displayed on the card. Strength levels, exceptional achivements and everything.

I turn my cold eyes back to Kabuto, who is now holding his broken hand up to his chest with his other hand. I can actually see him quiver slightly. _So nice..._ He must know the information that is on that card. I take a step towards Kabuto, making him back up a bit. _Such a good response, he_ _will_ _be a good toy..._ At the moment I want to take another step towards him to scare him even more, Ibiki-nii decides to show his face, finding me glaring at a terrified ninja cowering in front of me. He sighs. "What did you do this time, Naruto-kun?" I turn to Ibiki-nii and give him the card. He looks at the card and then at me. "This is from him?" I nod. "Alright then, thanks. I'll get him and his teammates set up in our special new room." A sadistic smile is now on his face. A squad of ANBU appear at his command and take the three ninja away. _Quick enough. And_ _something_ _to_ _do_ _after_ _the tests!_

Continuing like nothing happened, Ibiki-nii starts explaining the exams. "Okay, all of you, get ready. We are about to begin the first of three exams that will determine whether or not any of you are ready to become Chuunin. Come up here, take a number and sit in the seat it asigns you to. Go on, get moving! We don't have all day!" Ibiki-nii starts in a professional voice, but ends with yelling the last part like a drill sergeant when he thinks people aren't reacting fast enough. After a few minutes of chaos, everybody is seated. 

"Alright, each and every one of you is starting with ten points. The sheet in front of you has nine questions. The tenth question will follow later. One point will be lost for every question answered wrong. Two points will be taken for each time we catch you cheating. Drop down to zero points, you and your team are out! Now, you have 45 minutes untill the tenth question is given. Ready? Start!" Ibiki-nii sits down and watches over the group from the front desk. At both sides of each row, a Chuunin is watching the participants keeping track on who is cheating. I sigh and look down at the sheet. These are definitely not Chuunin level questions. Hell, a few Jounin would have great trouble with this. I know Sakura will be able to reason her way through these. I know Sasuke will cheat his way through these. 

Feeling the motivation for actually doing something during this written exam drain away from me, I decide to start playing a little game. I turn the sheet around and start listing everybody in the room, including the ANBU hiding out of sight and make quick threat profiles in them. Well, for how much room there is on a single A4 sized sheet of paper, it's more of a list than actual profiles, but it fills the time. Within five minutes, the first teams start to be dismissed. By the end of the 45 minutes, two-thirds of the teams have been dismissed. 

I turn the sheet back around when Ibiki-nii speaks up again. The front is completely bank, not even my name is filled in. "Before I give you the last question, you need to make a choice. A choice that will affect you and your team. I'm going to give you the choice to walk out of this exam right now, instead of taking this tenth question."

"Why would we choose to do that?" A random participant asks. 

"Well, if you do take the tenth question." Ibiki-nii gives another sadistic smile. "And you happen to fail that question, you whole team will fail and be forbidden to ever take a Chuunin exam again." Several people call out in outrage, pointing out that others that have failed are allowed to redo the exams. 

"Well, I'm setting the rules now, and that's what they are! Now choose!" Another three teams make their way out of the room. After five more minutes of tense waiting, Ibiki-nii breaks the silence. 

"Congratulations, you all just passed!" The reaction from the remaining participants is a mixture of relieve and confusion. "What about the tenth question?" Sakura asks. 

"Well, consider the choice the tenth question." Ibiki-nii is gathering his stuff to get ready to leave. I get up and lazily make my way to the window and pop it open, seconds before Anko-nee burst through the window. "Aw, Naru-chan, why'd you do that?" She asks a bit disapointed her grand entrance is now ruined. "You're not supposed to damage property anymore, Anko-nee." I say dryly.

"Hmpf, kill-joy." She grumples. "Okay, everybody, the next part of the exam will be at training ground 44 under the guidence of this here beautiful single lady! Be there in ten minutes, or you fail!" She immediatly shunshins away. I grab Sasuke and Sakura and shunshin them with me to the Forest of Death. Within ten minutes everybody is there. 

"You will spend five days in this Forest, your goal is to get to the center with 2 scrolls. You will be given one scroll when you sign the papers saying Konoha is not responsible for your deaths. The other scroll you need to get from another team. If you're late, you fail, if you don't have both scrolls, you fail, if you are missing a team member, you fail. You will not know which team has which scroll. Now, go get a scroll and go to your designated gate!" Again there is a little chaos untill everybody settles and start to head to their gates. 

As soon as we hear the whistle, we enter the Forest. "So, what are we going to do?" Sakura asks. 

"Lets start by finding a different team and try to get their scroll. If it is the right one, we'll leg it to the center. If it's not, we continue searching." Sasuke answers. We search around the Forest for a while untill a ninja finds us. _He? She?_ **He, I guess.** _Sure, why not, 'he' it is._ He seems to have an odd focus on Sasuke. Talking to Sasuke about power and revenge. The more the guy talks, the more Sasuke seems to be out of it, anger and distress playing on his face. When the ninja moves towards Sasuke, I've had enough. In a flash I grab my sword and slash his head off in a single swing before he can touch Sasuke. The guy stumbles back and falls backwards while his head rolls away. After a few seconds, the body starts to twitch and stands back up. A new head in place. The face looks different. It's a lot more clear now that it is indeed a guy. _Good guess, Kurama!_ **Who says I was guessing?** I sweatdrop at that comment in my mindcape, shaking my head slightly. _You_ _did_ _..._

The guy gags up a sword and comes at me. **Disgusting!** Dropping down into my fighting stance, we start off in a high speed sword fight. Every time I'm able to cut off a limb or make a lethal cut, it seems to grow back or heal, although I do notice that they come back and heal slower and slower with each wound I make on him. 

Basically killing him over and over again, I push him to a point where he can't seem to regenerate anymore. With a growl I jump at him to deliver another final blow, but he starts melting into the tree behind him. My slash hits his side, cutting halfway through his body before it goes straight through the tree, causing the tree to crash to the side. The ninja is gone. I let out a frustrated growl before I steady my breathing and look around. There is a lot of blood. I'm covered in blood as well. _Why didn't I go into bloodlust?_ The limbs I've chopped off don't look like limbs anymore, more like piles of dead snakes. Among one of the piles, I notice a scroll. I pick it up and unceremoniously give it to Sakura, who also has our other scroll. She holds it away from her a bit since it's covered in grime and looks at it disgusted, but takes it anyway. She compares it to our scroll. "Hey, this is the other one! Let's hurry and get to the center. I can't believe our luck, running into someone with the other scroll so early in the exam!" Sakura seems happy about how everything played out. I walk up to Sasuke. He still seems a bit out of it. I put my hand on his cheek and get him to look at me. "Are you alright?" I ask him. He blinks a few times. "Yeah, just... some bad memories." He says.

"Itachi?" I ask. He looks at me with shock on his face. "Let's talk about him once this is all over. If we make Chuunin, or if I make Chuunin I should say, I can tell you more about him. But not now. I'm not allowed to. Trust me?" I hold out my hand to him. He grabs it. "Of course." I smile at him.

We make our way to the center of the Forest and enter the tower without further encounters. Using the scrolls and the instructions on the sign in front of us, we summon Iru-nii. "Congratulations you three, you did amazing! Only one group was faster then you. A group from the sand. Find a room and get comfortable for the next four days!" After that, he shunshins away again. Sasuke and I find a room together and Sakura takes the room next to ours. We pretty much stay in our room and Sakura spends a lot of time with us as well. The room is large enough to do some basic training in, so that is what we do. The four days are passing quickly enough. 

The last team has made it to the center. There are still to many participants for the last round, so it is decided that there will be a preliminary. The fights really don't interest me that much. I watch Sasuke win against some ninja that has his face covered. Ino and Sakura's fight is slightly interesting, ending in a tie. My fight with Kiba only lasts a few seconds as I suckerpunch him against the back wall, knocking him out, leaving Akamaru unharmed. Hinata had some trouble, but Kuranai-sensei intervened before it got too bad. 

The next fight is Gaara versus Lee. The fight is going at a speed I know most others can't follow. I can feel the murderous intent building up in Gaara as Lee seems to be able to outrun him over and over again. _I always wondered what it looked like to see someone in bloodlust. It's kind of interesting._ **It's scary...** _Nah_ _, just interesting._ The murderous intent is reaching it's peak when I notice the sand has Lee cornered. More people notice and gasp, afraid of what will happen to Lee. The sand is rising and encasing Lee from the neck down. I let out a loud snarl, making Lee, and everybody else for that matter, look at me. "No!" I hiss at Gaara but Gaara is too focussed on Lee to actually hear what I said. 

I jump down and stand in between him and Lee. Jounin and ANBU are suddenly on high alert, waiting for the moment they would need to intervene in a confrontation between two Jinchuuriki. Gaara is still completely focussed on Lee, seemingly looking straight through me. I hiss again, loud enough to get Gaara to shift his focus to me. _Damn, those eyes are strong! I wonder what mine look like in such situations?_ I stare at him as he stares at me. The tension around us building, killing intent getting stronger and stronger. He takes a step towards me. Sand is swirling around us, but I don't back down. "Stop." I hiss at him. After a second of doubt, he let's his hand drop to his side as his sand crumbles down, no longer being held up by Gaara's control over it. Temari and Kankuro stare wide-eyed at their younger brother obeying someone while he is in that state. The Jounin and ANBU relax visibly. The procter looks between me, Gaara and Lee, debating whether or not this fight should continue or that is has already reached his end. Fortunately for Lee, he decides the fight is over. "I am *cough-cough* calling this fight in favour of *cough-cough* Sabaku no Gaara!"

Guy-sensei is quick to jump down to Lee and starts checking him over. Gaara disappears in a swirl of sand and does not show up in the stands again. I jump back into the stands to watch the last fight. The last fight between Choji and a sound ninja ends up in defeat for Choji. After that, we are all called down to hear the speech from the Hokage. "You have all done well. For those who passed to the next round, congratulations! To those who did not, I wish you better luck for the next time. There will be a one month break between now and the last part of the exams. There will be no missions for you untill that time. You will get an official invite for the next exams. I suggest you train and rest untill then. Please take an number from the bag. It will determine your opponent for the next round." After everybody has a number, the matches are displayed on the screen behind the stage. I'm up against Neji. **Easy enough**. Sasuke is up against Gaara. _I might need to talk to him. Or both of them._

With a big smile the Hokage finishes the meeting. "Good luck to you all! Dismissed."


	13. The month between

"You're going to come with me to my place tonight?" Sasuke asks me after we leave the Forest of Death.

"Sure, just let me stop by my place first and I'll get some of my stuff." Sasuke nods at me.

"Hey, can I walk back with you guys?" Sakura asks.

"Hn." Sakura takes that as an 'Okay' from Sasuke and starts to walk next to us.

"That was really something, wasn't it? Did you notice the ninja we defeated for the scroll wasn't at the tower?" We nod while Sakura happily continues talking, barely noticing that we are responding. "I guess his team didn't make it. He did have a big wound before he disappeared. I wonder if he's still alive." We both nod again. "I was really happy all the others were alright though. Too bad that not all of us made it through the preliminaries. Well, I know that wouldn't really have been possible, but still... You know, Shikamaru did alright. I guess if Lee had been up against someone else, he would have made it through as well. I guess that's bad luck on his part." Sasuke throws me a 'kill me now' look behind Sakura's back as she continues to talk. "I was really surprised I had to go up against Ino. That was quite interesting. Too bad it ended in a tie. Or should I say too bad a tie doesn't get you in the next round. You know..."

I interrupt Sakura. "I was wondering about that. How come you knew about what happened in the alley and why was Ino looking you up and down during the first exam?" I tilt my head at her as I talk. I let a little curiosity slip into my voice. Sakura turns a bit red while Sasuke looks between me and Sakura in surprise.

"Oh, well, you know, I... She... slept at my place that night and we're kinda... dating?" She says looking a bit nervous about how we might react, avoiding eye contact with both of us.

"Thought so." I say. She looks up at me and then smiles at me, happy I'm not judging her. "So, are you happy with that?" I ask her.

"Yeah... I mean, it's a bit weird sometimes, because we used to be friends and then we were at each others throats over Sasuke, but since he's obviously completely into you now, we kind of found common ground on that part and then it just started clicking again, you know? I mean, we still fight and all, and there's no way I'm gonna give in to her any time soon on anything, but at the end of the day we both are pretty happy to be in each others company." She smiles to herself as she thinks about her new found affections for her childhood friend.

Sakura continues talking untill we reach town. She then takes her leave and goes home. We walk through town in silence to my apartment. Sasuke follows me inside. "You... really don't have a lot of room in here, do you?" He asks me.

"I don't really need more room. I'm not here most of the time and when I am here, I consider this more of a study with a bed than an actual apartment." I shrug my shoulders.

"What about when you have company?"

"The only person to come in here besides me is you. I have no plans to make that change."

Sasuke looks around a bit more. "You know, we could probably move all your stuff to my place in half a day. There are plenty of rooms there. You could have an actual study. There's one with a small library I never use." He says casually.

"What?" I ask a bit taken aback, blinking at Sasuke. Sasuke walks to me and places his hands behind my neck, intertwining his fingers

"It'd be nice to have you around more. I'd always know where to find you." Sasuke stares into my eyes. I put my arms around his waist.

"So you're asking me to move in with you?"

"Pretty much, yeah." A smile appears on his face. "Besides, I could use someone to do the dishes for me, you know." He adds, before quickly pulling me into a kiss, making me unable to respond. Instead, I settle for hitting him in the chest and answering the kiss with a passion. He breaks the kiss and steps away. "It's too late to start today. We'll come back tomorrow and start to move your stuff." He walks towards my bedroom.

"I didn't say I was moving in with you. And why are you going into my bedroom?" I walk after him. He's already in my closet pulling stuff out to take with us.

"You needed to grab some stuff to stay over at my place, right? I thought I'd help you a bit." The amount of clothing and underwear he's pulling out of my closet is clearly for more than just one night. He even manages to dive up an old backpack of mine to put all the stuff in. I just glare at him while he's packing. "Come on, get your toothbrush and stuff, so we can get going." He tells me. Rolling my eyes I walk to the bathroom to get the stuff I want to take with me. Sasuke is already at the bathroom door, keeping the bag open for me.

"Aren't you a bit forceful about this?'' I ask him, putting the stuff in the bag.

"Maybe, but if you didn't want to, you would have already told me so." He says shrugging. He closes the bag and puts it on his back. "Do you wanna go to Ichiraku's for dinner?"

"Are you asking me or telling me? Because at this point, I don't really feel like you're letting me the choice..." Sasuke rolls is eyes at me.

"Asking." He says with a little emphasis. He takes a step towards me, taking on a dominant stance, almost making me take a step back. "Oh, I promise you, when I am telling you to do something, I will make sure you'll know it." He grins at me. _Damn..._

Sasuke grabs my hand and we walk to Ichiraku's. Teuchi and Aya-nee are as nice as always, making small talk and being good company. Afterwards, we stroll around Konoha for a while. This time, Sasuke is more adamant about sticking to the main road. When we reach Sasuke's home, we go up to his bedroom, well our bedroom now I guess. He opens the closet. "Put your stuff in here, there's an empty shelf left."

After that, we brush our teeth, change into our night clothes, which is a T-shirt and boxers for Sasuke and for me no top and long pyjama bottoms. I lay down on the bed on my side with my legs pulled up a bit. Sasuke lays down behind me pulling a blanket over us. He snuggles up to me, burying his nose in my hair. I can feel his hand running over my side to my stomach, fingers tracing the outline of my abs. Before long, Sasuke falls asleep. Relaxing into the rhythmic flow of Sasuke's breathing, I soon follow.

The next morning there's a knock on the door quite early, waking us both up. Sasuke groans next to me and looks at the clock. "Half past five." He grumbles before he drops himself back into bed and pulls me down as well. There is another knock. "I'm not getting up." Sasuke grumbles. "You go, you live here too now." _Really, Sasuke? Really?_ I get up and grab my pillow. I whack Sasuke in the face with it, before making my way to the front door. Sasuke throws the pillow after me.

Before I open the door, I can sense it's Kaka-nii. "Why are you here?" I ask in a cold voice, pulling the door open.

"Na-Naru-chan? Why are you here? Did you sleep here?" Kaka-nii asks in surprise.

"Yes. Apparantly I live here now. Sasuke told me so yesterday." I say in a bored tone, face matching my voice.

"Oh, okay, well, I'm here for Sasuke. Can I speak to him?"

"Really? Oh, it's so unexpected that you came here for the only person you thought lives here..." I say sarcastically. "Come in, I'll get him." I walk away from the door and back to the bedroom, leaving Kaka-nii standing in the doorway unsure of what to do and where to go.

Sasuke is still in bed with the blanket pulled over him. I pull the blanket off of him and sit down on top of him. He doesn't really react other then an annoyed grunt. I start running my fingers through his hair, pulling it lightly here and there. Sasuke let's out a soft moan. I lean forward to his ear. "You have a visitor. Come on, get up, so we can get him to leave again." I purr softly into his ear.

"Urgh, fine, I'm coming..." I get off him and sit down next to him on the bed. After a minute Sasuke still hasn't moved. I sigh, stand up and look at him in contemplation. _What to do..?_ **Need some ideas? I got a few!** Kurama says quite enthusiastically. _I bet you do... So what's the best you got?_ **I'm gonna say something along the line of a fox trick would do nicely...** A grin spreads across my face. I activate the seal on my leg, slowly pulling all the light our of the room. I then silently walk to the other side of the bed and move my hand to bring it up to Sasuke's neck, pushing his face to the side a bit to expose his neck. Another soft moan escapes Sasuke. His movements tells me he's only half awake. I run a nail up his throat and I feel Sasuke tense up underneath me. Bringing my face down, I slowly lick up his neck where I just scraped my nail.

With a jolt and a scream, Sasuke jumps out of bed. I release the light seal, lighting the room back up. Sasuke is standing there, looking flustered and breathing fast. He scowls at me. "Hey, you're awake!" I say dryly, struggling to not break out in laughter and trying to keep a straight face. "Now you can get your ass downstairs and get rid of Kakashi-sensei." I give him an innocent smile.

"Hn." Sasuke walks out of the room and I follow him. Kaka-nii has made his way to the kitchen, so we join him there. "What was that scream?" Kaka-nii asks.

"I woke up Sasuke for you." I say as innocently as possible. Kaka-nii sweat drops, looking from me to Sasuke. Sasuke throws me a dirty look. "I did try to do it nicely." I pout a little as I say that, forgetting Kaka-nii is also here. Sasuke walks over to me. "What, you're feeling guilty already?" Sasuke asks, crossing his arms in front of him and scowling again. I shrug a bit. "It was funny, though." I say. Sasuke's scowl breaks into a smile. "Yeah, I guess it was..."

Kaka-nii clears his throat. _O, yeah, he was here too..._ "Sasuke, for the next month, I would like you to train daily with me on the jutsu we started on a couple of days ago and also train other techniques. Naru-chan, I would suggest you also train in the next month, but I know you'll train anyway."

"When do you want to begin?" Sasuke asks.

"Today. Right now would be good. Or, you know, after you get dresses." Kaka-nii looks at us both, still in our night clothing. Sasuke rolls his eyes and we go back upstairs to get dressed. When we get downstairs again, Sasuke starts to make breakfast at his leasure. He makes enough for the three of us and after we eat, we leave for the training grounds. Sasuke and Kaka-nii set up a schedule for their training. It's not gonna leave a lot of free time, but at least we'll see each other in the evenings.

Two weeks into the training I'm sitting alone at home at ten o'clock in the evening. _I'm bored._ Sasuke isn't home yet. _I'm bored._ The hokage hasn't called on me since the last mission with Tazuna. _I'm_ _bored_ _._ I'm feeling frustrated and I really need to take it out on something. _I'm bo~_ _ored_ _!_

"..."

"..."

"..."

_Hey, Kurama..._ **What, kit?** _I'm bored._ **Yeah, you mentioned something like that.**

"..."

"..."

"..."

_Kurama..._

"..."

"..."

"..."

After not getting an answer out of Kurama anymore, I decide to meditate and go into my mindscape. Once I'm there, Kurama is pretending to be asleep. I sit down in front of his big black nose and poke it... No reaction... I scooch a bit closer and I poke him again... still nothing... A couple of quick pokes follow... A small annoyed grunt... So I poke again. **Damn it, kit, what do you want me to do about it!?** _I donno..._ **You don't know? So what then? If you want something to do, go and ask for a mission.** _It's ten o'clock at night,_ _Jiji's_ _not gonna be there._ **Well, then, go annoy your boyfriend.** _I would, but he's not home._ **So what do you want then? I can't do much from inside here, you know.** _Tell me a story._ **A-a story?** _Yeah, like you used to._ Kurama sighs. **No, go away.** _O, come on! I'm bored!_ **You know what, kit,** **Ibiki** **probably has a night shift for you, so go annoy the prisoners and keep them up or something.** Kurama turns around and is back to ignoring me. _That would be entertaining..._

I leave my mindscape, write a quick note for Sasuke that I place on the dining table and make my way to the T&I department. A couple of ANBU greet me before I report to Ibiki-nii for a night of bloody fun...

It was fun, I had fun. They didn't have fun, but I sure did have fun. I am satisfied for the near future.

When I get back home around 6 o'clock in the morning, Sasuke is still in bed. I take a quick shower and snuggle up to him. We both get another two hours of sleep, before Sasuke's alarm goes off and we both get out of bed. For today I just tag along with Sasuke, watching him and Kaka-nii train. Then it's back to studying my 'borrowed' scrolls and training.

Sasuke and Kaka-nii planned the last three days before the third Chuunin exam as resting days, so to have all three days alone with Sasuke, I use the day before that to look up Gaara. I find him and his siblings at the edge of town at a training ground. Gaara is sitting cross legged to the side while his siblings are training together. I sit down next to him. Gaara doesn't really respond besides tensing up a little bit. We sit there for a while before Gaara breaks the silence. "Why are you here?" A cold and uninterested voice reaches my ears. I continue the conversation in the same tone. "Your upcoming fight."

"What about it?"

"Fight like you mean it, show me that bloodlust again, but do not dare to kill or leave lasting injuries." Gaara looks at me. I notice his siblings have stopped training to watch us as well.

"Why do you care about him? Or about any of them? Aren't you the same as me?"

"Because he shows care for me. So do the others. Much like your siblings show care for you. I just found someone to break my walls down a bit." I let my cold mask slip a bit a little affection seeps into my voice. Gaara looks towards his siblings.

"They don't care for me. They hate me." He says in a sad voice.

"If they did, why do they look ready to intervene right now? They know I can stand my ground against you, so it's not me they want to protect." After that I get up and walk away. I can feel Gaara and his siblings staring after me. Temari walks to Gaara, but I'm already too far away to hear what she says to him.

I make my way to my old apartment. I've hopped to and from my house to Sasuke's over the course of the month, slowly but surely bringing all of my stuff over as I needed it. There was no time for a big move, so this worked just as well. We plan on bringing the bigger stuff I want to keep over after the third Chuunin exam.

I notice some of the seals have been messed with. I look up and down the corridor, but I don't see anyone nearby. Slightly on edge, I open my door and close it quickly behind me, reactivating the seals. I go through my stuff one last time. I know we were supposed to come by to pick up my bigger stuff, but the more I look at it, the more I realise I really don't want any of it anymore. Using a sealing scroll, I get the last items I do want. I check everything one more time and then leave the apartment, leaving the seals undone.

Sitting down on the roof of my apartment I take a moment to accept that it's not going to be mine anymore. **Nostalgic, are we?** I sigh. _It's still the apartment we lived in since I was four. It might not have been the best place, but it was still our place._ My contemplation is broken when I hear footsteps and voices.

"I'm telling you, I heard movement up here." A man says.

"It hasn't been here in a week. Why would it be back now?" A second man says.

"Well, it's been gone longer then that before, it always comes back!" A third man says. The voice sounds disgusted.

"You got a point there. Hey, look, it left its door open!" The second men says. Three men are in front of my door. I hide my presence, heart racing I my throat. If I had taken a bit longer inside, they would have had me trapped.

"Let's see if it's home. If it's not, we'll trash the place!" The first man says excitedly. He is quick to walk inside. "Demon, are you home?" He calls out in a sweet voice. "Come on out, there's no need to hide!" He cooed.

"Guess he's not here." The second man grumbles. "Looks like most of his stuff is gone too. Did he move out?"

"That'd be good news! Now, let's destroy what's left so it knows we don't want it back here!" The third man adds. After that I hear ripping, breaking and cracking from my apartment as it's taken apart. **Well, that's the end of that.** _I guess._ I shunshin to get away from the apartment and make my way to the Hokage tower to end the rent on my apartment. I enter through the window, ignoring the fact that the Hokage is in a meeting and make my way to the couch and lie down. It's a habit I started since he put me in the academy. It seems to piss him off a bit, which is exactly why I do it. The Hokage sighs, but continues with his debriefing of a group of ANBU. Two of them look at me in recognition and ignore my presence. The third looks between me, the hokage and the other two before accepting no explanation will be given.

After dismissing the ANBU, the Hokage clears his throat to get my attention. "Why are you here, Naruto-kun? Shouldn't you be preparing for the Chuunin exam?"

"I came here to inform you I will not be living in the apartment you appointed me to anymore." I say in a cold, business voice. "I have found lodgings elsewhere."

"Might I ask where you are living now, then?" The Hokage asks in a happy, friendly tone.

"I will be residing in the Uchiha compound with Sasuke."

"Well, then, I will make sure your address is changed in the records. Is there anything still in the apartment that you want to take with you?

"I have already taken all the belongings I wish to keep. I also deactivated the seals around the door. I'm afraid the apartment might be in a state of disarray because of that."

"I'll have a team go and sort that out before the next tenant moves in. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, this was all." I bow before shunshining away. I make my way home to find Sasuke already there. He smiles at me as I walk in. "Hey, you're home. What did you do today?" He asks me.

"I went and got the last of my things from my apartment. After that I went to the Hokage to tell him that I will be living here from now on. He'll change the records." Sasuke walks up to me, smiling.

"So then you officially live here. Maybe we should celebrate." Wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulls me closer. He sways us a bit, like we are dancing. He leads the pace and direction and I gladly follow. I put my hands in his neck. Pressing a bit closer together, the motion becomes a game of calls and answers, rhythmic movements, pushing and pulling each other, feeling each others muscles move against each other. I place my head on his shoulder and he brings his face closer to my ear, softly breathing into it making goosebumps climb up and down my skin.

"You're coming with me." Sasuke's voice leaves no room for disobedience. I feel a shiver run down my spine. Sasuke takes my hand and leads me up to the bedroom. He makes me sit in the desk chair in the bedroom.

He gives me a quick kiss on the lips. "Can I try something?" He whispers into my ear, his cheek resting against mine. I nod. He pulls back a bit and his hands wander to the back of my neck. I feel him untie the knot in my hitai-ate. He pulls it from my neck and smiles at me before placing it over my eyes and tying it again. The last thing I see are Sasuke's lust filled eyes. I feel his hands disappear under my shirt as he pulls up and over my head, exposing my torso and restraining my movement a bit at the same time. With one hand, he grabs my wrists and pulls them over my head. His other hand lands on my chest, sliding across my skin. Nails gently scrape over my skin before his fingers find a nipple. Pinching and pulling on it, his mouth is suddenly on my other nipple, licking and sucking it. First gently, but soon more fierce. I moan and writhe under his teasing touch.

He pulls back without letting go of my wrists, leaving me panting. He pulls my arms further up. I feel his cheek brush against mine. "You're beautiful." He whispers softly into my ear. Immediately, my heartbeat doubles. _No!_ My breathing speeds up and I feel panic closing in on me. _Stop!_ I whimper as memories flood my mind and I'm no longer hearing anything, just a vaguely familiar voice somewhere far away. _Stay away!_ Tears pool in my eyes. I feel my hands being let go of before a hand land on my cheek and another on my shoulder. _Leave me alone!_ I kick myself back, making the chair fall backwards and I scamper across the floor to get away. My back hits the wall. I pull up my knees and cover my ears.

Hands are placed my head, making me flinch. The hands pull back a bit before continuing what they were doing, moving to the back of my head.

The Hitai-ate around my eyes is taken away. Focusing on my surroundings, my eyes meet Sasuke's onyx ones. Again I whimper before I dive into Sasuke's embrace. "Sst, it's okay, I'm here." He whispers to me. "You're alright. I've got you." Sasuke keeps whispering to me, rocking me back and forth untill I calm down. "I'm sorry." I whisper to Sasuke. "I completely ruined it."

"No. No, you didn't. It's not your fault." He says in a reassuring voice.

"I did." My voice is a bit shaky.

"It's not your fault." He repeats. "Can you tell me what triggered it?"

I look at him, a few tears escape me. "Please don't stop this. I really love this. It's just that... having my hands above me is kinda like... too similar. And then when called me beautiful I just... lost it, I guess." Sasuke pulls me closer into a hug.

He runs his fingers through my hair. "It's okay. We'll get through this. I'll be here for you." I start to sob into his shoulder. He holds me and shushes me untill I fall asleep.


	14. A fighting chance

I wake up in the middle of the night and sit up. I look beside me to find Sasuke asleep next to me. My eyes are still sore from crying. Sasuke must have just put us in bed after I fell asleep. We are both still in our normal clothing. I get up as silently as possible to avoid waking up Sasuke. I really need some water. Stumbling a bit in the bathroom, I make more noise than I wanted. I stand still and listen to hear if Sasuke has woken up from that. Everything is still silent. Grabbing a cup, I get myself some water to drink. "Are you okay?" Sasuke asks while leaning against the doorway. I jump a bit feeling startled. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." I say. Sasuke shrugs and walks over to me. He takes the cup that still has a sip in it and drinks it before putting the cup down. "So, are you okay?" 

"I guess."

"Come on, let's go back to sleep." I give a nod before I walk back to the bed and lay down on my back with an arm over my eyes and a leg pulled up slightly. Sasuke sits down on top me, a leg on either side of my hips. Leaning over me a bit, he pushes the arm over my eyes up and looks at me. "You know I'd never hurt you, right? That I'd never do something you don't want me to?" He looks at me with a serious expression. I give him a small nod. Sasuke sighs. "I need to know that you feel safe with me. That you know you can stop it at any time you want. I don't think I can keep doing that if I can't tell when it's too much."

I move the arm Sasuke is holding up to put it in front of me. Sasuke immediately lets go and sits up straight. I feel a bit sad that he is letting me so easily. I grab the edge of his shirt with both hands and fiddle a bit with it while looking at it. "It's not that I don't feel safe. Really, it's not. It's just that... I panicked. I'm sorry." I close my eyes and shake my head. "The memories... But I know you wouldn't..." I take a deep breath and look at Sasuke. "Thing is, I don't want to stop you."

"And I don't want you to have another panick attack." Sasuke says in a slightly reprimanding voice before he closes his eyes for a second before looking back at me. "What if we agree on something you can do or say that will stop it? So we know there's a way out if you need it?" Sasuke asks me. I nod at him.

Placing his hands next to either side of my head, he leans forward a bit. "So what then, as a safe word? And you also need to tell me what I can never do."

I stay quiet for a second thinking about what to say. " 'You're beautiful.' That's what you said that triggered the memories. That's the only thing I couldn't... can't handle." Sasuke places a hand on my cheek and rubs it softly with his thumb. His brow is furrowed as he looks at me with his empathy filled eyes. He gives a nod. "Fox tails." I say. It's the only thing I can think of so fast. Sasuke nods again before leaning in, capturing my lips in a kiss. At the first lick to gain access, I open my mouth to Sasuke. Our tongues intertwine, Sasuke dominating every move of the kiss. He breaks the kiss, before hugging me with his arms around my neck and laying down on his side. He pulls me with him to my side, so we lay face to face. I snuggle into his chest, his arms protectively around me. Soothed by his steady breathing, I fall asleep again. 

The next morning I wake up still in Sasuke's embrace. In order to not wake Sasuke up again, I just lie there. _It's warm._ An hour passes before Sasuke wakes up. With a small grunt he turns to lay on his back. I poke him in the cheek. He opens one eye and glares a bit at me. "Want me to make breakfast or are you just gonna sleep till lunch?" I ask him. He looks at me in surprise. "You can cook?"

I shrug. "I've lived alone a long time too, you know." 

"Alright, I'll take a shower and be right down." He says in a happy tone. 

"Don't expect too much. It won't be anything special." Sasuke is already up and on his way to the bathroom. "Fifteen minutes!" I yell after him. 

"Okay!" He yells back. I make my way downstairs and go through the cupboards to find the ingredients to make a vegetable, cheese and bacon omelet. I find a red bellpeper, an onion, sweetcorn and peas. I bake the vegetables and bacon in a saucepan, while whisking the eggs frothy in a bowl. I turn the fire down before adding the eggs. Over the eggs I sprinkle cheese, before putting a lid on the pan so the heat can cook the egg through. After five minutes, I flip the omelet over and turn the heat back up a bit again. Leaving the lid off, the cheese begins to bake nicely.

Sasuke walks in as I'm setting the table. I flip the omelet onto a plate, showing off the cheesy baked top and set it on the table. Cutting the omelet into wedges, I put a piece on both our plates. "Well, dig in." I say slightly nervous. This is pretty much the only thing I can cook that doesn't end up burned or just plain disgusting, but since nobody ever tasted my cooking, that's based only on my own opinion. _I never thought I'd care about what someone else would think about my attempts at cooking._ **It's nice though, isn't it? To have someone** **like that**. Sasuke takes a bite. I shift nervously in my chair. 

"Hey, this is actually really good!" He says in surprise. 

"You don't have to be that surprised about it! It's just eggs and vegetables. Can't really ruin that much about it, could I?" I counter.

Sasuke chuckles. "Well, I wouldn't mind to eat this more often as breakfast. But I remember you said you didn't want to eat meat. So why the bacon?" 

"I'm not against eating meat. It's just that meat is one of the more disgusting things to eat when it's spoiled an it's easily poisened, because it's usually not sold in prepacked containers, but wrapped on order in the store." I say like it's normal to expect food to be sold to you spoiled or poisoned, which for me it is. 

Sasuke looks at me and shakes his head. "I still can't believe that that kind of treatment has gone ignored or unnoticed. It's disgusting. Why hasn't the Hokage ever done anything about that?"

"He doesn't know. I never told him." I furrow my brow, thinking about the villagers and their treatment of me. "There are a lot of things I never told the Hokage. Besides, when has calling a teacher on a bully ever truly helped the victim? It would have just gotten worse by putting the focus on it." I sigh. 

"So he never helped you?" Sasuke asks.

"He tried. It's fine, I lived. That's all he knows about me anyway. That I am still alive. The moments he was able to give me any attention never were enough to see the world I was forced to live in. Not that I ever wanted to show him any of it anyway, for that matter." There is a moment of silence as Sasuke thinks over what I just said. 

Not wanting this topic to go any futher, I switch the conversation to something else. "O hey, before I forget again, I wanted to talk to you about your upcoming fight with Gaara. Could you promise me something?" 

"Uhm, I guess, what is it?" Sasuke asks, blinking a few times due to the sudden change of topic.

"Can you promise me you won't taunt him? Just fight, seriously and quickly. Don't try to piss him off."

"What, you don't think I can win?" He snaps with a hurt look on his face. 

I shake my head. "No, I know you can defeat Gaara. That's not what I meant. There is something else with him that makes him dangerous to everybody. Even the Hokage would probably struggle with it. If you draw that out, it won't be you versus Gaara anymore. Please promise me?" I say with a serious look on my face. 

"Okay, I promise I won't taunt him. Just the fight, nothing more." 

"Good. So, what do you wanna do? We've got three days off." I ask with a small smile. 

"Well, for today, absolutely nothing, just hang around the house." Sasuke says.

"I could get behind that..." 

"Tomorrow, we could go into town to stock up on supplies. I need some new kunai and stuff. O, and Shikamaru wanted to meet with us as well. He said something about having figured something out." 

"That's something that'll to wait untill after the Chuunin exams. But shopping is fine."

The rest of the day is spent just relaxing around the house. Sasuke makes lunch and dinner and I do some other household chores. The next day I let Sasuke drag me around town. We run in to Sakura and have lunch together. Sakura talks a lot about Ino and how they are doing. She also tells us she picked up medical training in the hospital and that it's going well. The last day is spent pretty much the same as the first day, just hanging around the house. Throughout the day, I can tell Sasuke is a bit nervous. In the evening, Sasuke's nerves play up more and more. "You'll do fine, Sasuke, calm down." I tell him as I grab his hand to stop him from pacing. 

"I know." He says taking a deep breath. "I know, but this is the first fight in front of an audience and there will be a lot of people." He gives me a nervous look as he sits down on the couch and pulls me into his lap. I straddle him sitting on his hips, Sasuke's arms around my waist. I give him a quick kiss. "I can't say that being in the spotlight is my favorite thing either, but they'll be up in the stands. Just focus on your fight and let the rest blur out. You'll do fine. I know you will." I put my arms around his shoulders and lean my head against his neck. 

Suddenly, Sasuke moves, throwing me sideways onto my back on the couch. I pull him over me because I still have my arms wrapped around his neck and my legs around his waist. He leans down on his elbows as he burries his face into my neck, finding the sensitive spot again he found before. The sucking, licking and scraping of his teeth makes me moan and grab hold of him even more. One of his hands trail down the front of my shirt, caressing me through the fabric, before the hand reached the hem of my shirt and disappears underneath it. Seemingly to memorize the outline of each of my muscles, his hand slowly makes it's way back up to my stomach. 

With a final lick, Sasuke switches from my neck to kissing me. "Open." He demands before his lips find mine. "Make me." I tell him. He sits up and looks down on me, a smirk forming on his face. "Fine." He takes my shirt off and throws it on the floor. He undoes my pants, pulling them down slightly so my hips are more exposed. He grabs both my wrists with one hand and pins them above my head as he leans over me and kisses me again. The fingertips of his other hand trail softly underneath the band of my boxershorts sending shivers up my spine, before the hand changes direction. Scraping his nails across my skin, he runs his hand across my hipbone and up my side. Goosebumps run over my skin as I suck in a breath at the sensation. Sasuke's tongue is immediately in my mouth, the hand holding my wrist moves away to mimic the motions of his other hand, teasing my sides with light touches and scraping nails. With my new freedom to move, I put my arms back around Sasuke's neck, pulling him closer to me. Both his hands trail to my chest and start pulling and pinching my nipples. With a moan I arc my back towards his touch and I grind my hips against his, feeling his hardness that is rivaling my own underneath his clothing. 

Sasuke breaks the kiss and sits up, grabbing my hips to stop them from moving. "No, no more, not yet." Sasuke whispers out of breath. I give a grunt of frustration. "That's just unfair!" I whine, pushing myself up by leaning on my elbows. "You want more too." 

"I told you I'd make you wait." He has a smirk on his face. "So wait." He gets up and walks out of the room. I drop myself back onto the couch, gabbing a pillow. I put the pillow on my face hugging it and let out a frustrated scream. I keep the pillow on my face as I wait for my body to calm down again. _Stupid teme..._

That night Sasuke is restless in his sleep, keeping me wide awake. He is tossing and turning and I can't relax with him like that. _Guess I didn't get him distracted enough from his nerves._ Accepting sleep isn't gonna be happenning this night, I get up and sit in the desk chair to meditate.

Sasuke wakes up to find me sitting absolutely silent in the chair. He placed a hand on my cheek to pull me out of my meditation. I open my eyes, blinking a few times. "Couldn't sleep?" Sasuke asks me. I shake my head. "No."

"I don't think I slept that much either. Come on, let's get ready." 

After breakfast we make our way to the arena where the third Chuunin exams are being held. The streets are filled with people that are also on their way to the arena. Along the way, we see a lot of vendors that have set up small stalls, trying to sell their wares to the spectators of the Chuunin exam. The event has pulled a lot of tourism to Konoha. Sasuke holds my hand and I walk closely beside him, uncomfortable with the number of people in the streets we walk through. When I jump a bit at the loud sound of a vendor dropping his wares, Sasuke tightens his grip on my hand a bit and smiles at me. I smile back at him. 

After a bit of delay because we couldn't get through the crowd fast enough, we arrive at the arena. The Chuunin at the entrance walks us inside towards the arena floor. "Line up with them." He says, before shunshining back to the entrance. All the other participants are already standing in the middle. We add outselves to their numbers. A couple of minutes pass before the Hokage calls for attention. 

"Welcome!'' The Hokage's voice echoes throughout the arena, making everybody fall silent. "Welcome to everybody in the audience and welcome to the contestants that have made it this far! The third part of the Chuunin exam is about to begin. The ninja standing in the middle of the arena before you have already proven to be versatile and capable of teamwork. Now they will be tested on individual combat skills. Good luck to you all!" 

The procter next to us is the next to speak up. "First match will be Hyuuga Neji versus Uzumaki Naruto. Can the rest please take your place in the viewing areas?" 

The rest of the participants quickly make their way off the arena floor, leaving me standing on a sandy patch in the middle of the arena. Neji stands in front of me, determination burning in his eyes. **This'll be fun.** Kurama settles himself down in the back of my mind as if he was getting comfortable to watch a show. **Oh, let's piss him off first!** _Of course!_

The proctor is looking between us to see if we are ready with a raised hand. "Get ready... Fight!" He drops his hand to sign the start and quickly jumps back. Neji gets into a stand that is typical Hyuuga. "This should be interesting." He says in a low voice. Neji seems to wait for me to make the first move. After a couple of minutes of silence, I still haven't moved. Neji decides to take the first move in stead. He activates his Byakugan, veins popping around his eyes. Stepping quickly to get closer to me, he jabs at me, trying to hit my chakra points. Every times he moves, I avoid his hits at the last second, each time getting Neji's hope up that his hit will land only to be disapointed. Slowly, Neji is buidling up his speed, trying to get a hit on me. Again and again I avoid his hits. With each jab that misses, I can see frustration buidling up in his eyes. "Why... don't... you... figth... back..!" He emphesizes each word with a jab, slightly panting. 

"Don't need to." I answer coldly, not even slightly worked up yet. Neji gives a growl of frustration. He jumps back a bit before turning sideways to me, placing his feet apart and dropping through his knees a bit, he stretches one hand out towards me and the other away from me. "Jūkenhō: Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)." I decide to let it happen. Kurama snickers in the back of my mind, knowing what I'm planning to do. Letting each of the sixty-four strikes hit me, it leaves me feeling like I can't move, breath slightly catching in my throat. My heart giving a strange thump, making me drop down on one knee. Neji looks a bit surprised I'm not completely down, but quickly gets over it. A smile spreads across Neji's face, convinced he has me incapable. He steps closer, ready to make a final move on me. 

_Little help here?_ **Yeah, get ready!** A shot of red charka runs through me, forcing it's way through my chakra points, burning them clean, healing all the bruises made and allowing my chakra flow to restore itself to normal. With the flash of red chakra, my appearence also flashes, red eyes with slithed pupils, deep dark whisker marks, red streaks in my hair, an evil aura glinting over me. For the short moment of time the red chakra engulves me, I allow a fox-like grin to play on my face. With a short deep breath, it's like nothing has happened to me, the red chakra gone, my appearance back to normal, completely uninjured. I notice the ANBU placed around the arena tense up, but they stand back down as soon as the red chakra is gone again. Seeing the red chakra, Neji takes a step back. His eyes are slightly wide. 

I get back up. Neji curses and quickly jumps back to get some distance between us again when he sees that I'm able to move again. "My turn now." The after effects of Kurama's chakra forced through my system leaves my voice with a slight demonic edge. Neji gulps and takes another step back. I bring my hands up into the hand sign for Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Instead of summoning the Kage Bunshin, I break away one hand from the hand sign while keeping my hands in the signs position. I extend the hand to my side, pointing away from my body. "Chiratsuki Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Flickering Shadow Clone Jutsu)." I say calmly. Within a second, my chakra spikes three times. For each spike, a partially formed Kage Bunshin appears and disappears, too fast for the Byakugan to follow. The Kage Bunshin are only half formed, half faded into a shadow, solid enough to strike hard, but unstable and quickly gone after apearing. I purposely use the Kage Bunshin as a partially completed justu to make them unpredictable. They also cost a lot less chakra than a full Kage Bunshin. Each time one appears, Neji is hit by a kick or a punch. He tries to follow the movements but before he can even focus on the image of the Kage Bunshin, they are already gone. Another three follow quickly, striking Neji hard in gut, kidney and the head. Neji buckle with pain, but he keeps himself standing. 

Again three strikes follow, hard, precise, and aimed at the places in the body that hurt the most or get the most damage from blunt force impact. Neji is strugling to remain standing, but with efford he manages it. His breathing is ragged and blood is dripping from his mouth. His Byakugan is no longer active and he struggles to focus on his surroundings. 

Another three strikes follow. Neji gasps for air from the uppercut he receives into his stomach, leaning forward grasping his stomach. The next strike is a downward kick at the base of his skull, forcing him on his knees with his head on the ground. The last hit is again a downward kick. This time to his lower back, slamming him into the ground. 

He does not move. Ten seconds go by and he still hasn't moved. The proctor walks up to Neji. After a couple attempts to get a reaction and getting none, he stands up. "Hyuuga Neji is unable to continue! Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!" He announces. For a couple of seconds, there is silence in the arena. During this silence, I shunshin into the stands next to Sasuke. He pulls me into a hug. "Well done." He says to me. A mixture of cheers and jeers starts to slowly rise from the arena. Many villagers are jeering in outraged that I won, but the cheers from the spectators from outside Konoha quickly overpower the negative intonations. The rest of the rookie 12 come over and congratulate me as well as some of the Senseis. 

Once the crowd dies down again, the proctor calls the contestants for the second match. "Aburama Shino and Sabaku no Kankuro, please make your way down for your match." Shino makes his way onto the arena floor in a cloud of bugs. The procter looks up into the stands to see if Kankuro is coming. Kankuro leans over the railing a bit, rising a hand. "I forteit this match!" He yells at the proctor. A murmer passes through the arena. The procter waits for the crowd to quiet down again before calling the match. "Winner by default, Aburama Shino!" Shino makes his way back into the stands. He stands off to the side a bit, sulking about not getting his match after working hard for a month in preparation. 

"Next match, Sabaku no Temari and Nara Shikamaru, please make your way down for your match!" They quickly make their way down and stand ready. "Ready... Start!" The procter jumps away. Temari starts attacking with her fan almost immediately. Shikamaru is able to avoid most of the attacks and I can see he is thinking hard about what to do while avoiding the attacks, causing him to take a few hits. After a heavy gust of wind produced by Temari, the arena floor is obscured from vision by sand and dust for a few seconds. Shikamaru takes this time to hide himself in the shadows, so he can think everything over. After a couple of seconds, he moves from his place in hiding and walks to the middle of the arena floor. He raises his hand. "Even if I'm able to catch Temari in my shadow, there still won't be a possibility for me to take her down. In this situation I would retreat and return with backup. I forfeit." he says. The crowd breaks out in a confused murmer. Shikamaru strolls off of the arena floor like he has no care in the world. The proctor speaks up to announce the winner. "Winner, Sabaku no Temari!" A doubtfull cheer fills the arena as Temari makes her way back into the stands. 

The Hokage announces there will be a 30 minute recess before the next fight. I see nervousness play on Sasuke's face for having to wait for another 30 minutes. I grab his hand and squeeze it lightly in a reassuring way. "You'll do fine, just relax." I tell him. He gives me a nod. "Let's get a drink while we wait." I drag him with me out of the viewing platform into the hall where several stands are set up and we get a drink. After that, we make our way back to the viewing platform and wait.


	15. Escalation

I watch Sasuke take a nervous breath as he is waiting for his fight to begin. I know it's not the fight that has him nervous. It's the people that are ging to be watching him and judging him. After all, that is what Chuunin exams are all about. The audience has pretty much made their way back to their seats already and the Hokage has also taken a seat again. _Can't_ _be_ _long_ _now_. We watch the proctor walk back onto the arena floor. The spectators quiet down when they start to notice the proctor. Sasuke takes another a deep breath.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back! Let's proceed to the next part of the exam!" The Hokage announces.

"Next up, Sabaku no Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke, please make your way down for your match." Sasuke jumps down from the stands and casually walks to the middle, not giving away any of his nervousness. Gaara appears in a swirl of sand, uninterested eyes staring at Sasuke. Sasuke stares back, his eyes burning with determination. The proctor looks between them. "Ready... fight!" The proctor quickly jumps back. For a short moment, it looks like neither is willing to make the first move, but Sasuke doesn't let it drag on. Getting out a set of kunai, he quickly throws them at Gaara. I can see the throws aren't meant to harm, but more to size up his opponent. A barrier of sand shoots up to stop the kunai. Gaara hasn't moved, trusting his sand will keep harm away from him.

Again Sasuke throws a set of kunai, this time quickly followed by Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). He shunshins to Gaara's other side before the fireball reached Gaara and throws another set of kunai. All three attacks are quickly blocked by the sand as Gaara still stands on the same spot, unmoved.

Seeing all three of his attacks blocked, Sasuke jumps back a bit. He takes a deep breath before focussing chakra into his eyes, activating his Sharingan. A gasp runs through the crowd. _He must have unlocked it further during Kaka-nii's training... It looks good..._ I bite my lip at the sight before realizing where I am again and quickly put on my cold face again.

Again Sasuke does the same set of moves, first throwing just a set of kunai, then combining the kunai with the fireball and shunshin to throw another set of kunai. **Where does he keeping all those kunai?** His movements seems quicker and more controlled then before. The sand is able to block all the attacks again, but it was a much closer call than the first attempt.

Putting more and more efford into reading the movement of the sand and the reactions from Gaara, Sasuke is slowly but steadily able to increase his speed and finally, breaks through the sand barier. A kunai scrapes Gaara's cheek, drawing a small amount of blood. Gaara lets out an angry scream.

Before Gaara can fully register what just happened, Sasuke shunshins within melee range, starting a quick combo of moves that I recognise as the same as the moves Lee used against Gaara. It's not perfectly executed, but for having seen it only once without the Sharingan active, it's pretty impressive Sasuke is able to mimic the combo as well as he does. Two strikes from the combo are able to hit, but after that Gaara's sand quickly catches up and encases Gaara in a sphere before the full combo can hit. An unnerving aura is radiating off of the sphere. I feel the hairs on the back of my neck rise because of it. The audience has fallen dead silent. All the ninja watching, including Temari and Kankuro, seem to tense up. **Be ready kit,** **this** **is** **going** **the** **wrong** **way** **.**

Jumping back a short distance, Sasuke takes a moment to evaluate this new development. He draws a kunai again and charges in for a melee attack. Before he can get close, spikes of sand shoot out of the sphere towards Sasuke. He ducks underneath one and twists backward to dodge another. A third hits him in the shoulder. Sasuke growls in pain before he retreats a short distrance again. As soon at the distance is increased, the spikes retract back into the sphere. Blood is slowly running out of the wound on Sasuke's shoulder, soaking his shirt.

I let out a low snarl and killer intent surrounds me at seeing him injured, making the people around me cower away. Kaka-nii walks up to me and places a hand on my shoulders. I tense at the touch and growl at him before focussing back on Sasuke, not willing to let Kaka-nii distract me. Kaka-nii quickly pulls his hand back at my reaction. "Naru-chan, I'm sure he'll be fine. Just watch him. He did good during training. Have some faith in him." He says, trying to reassure me while holding up his hands defensively. _Like I would ever doubt Sasuke!_

"Kaka-nii, Gaara is dangerous..." I tell him in a cold voice, only just loud enough for him to hear, my eyes still focused on Sasuke. Kaka-nii looks at me with big eyes and a shocked expression for hearing me call someone dangerous, not to mention me calling him 'Kaka-nii' in the same sentence, before looking back at his student fighting in te arena. His attitude is slightly more tense and alert now.

Sasuke rolls his shoulder, shrugging of the pain before getting ready to attack again. His eyes are searching for a way to break through the spikes so he can get close enough for his next move. He throws kunai to see if the sand reacts to movement rather then presence. The spikes shoot out again, deflecing the kunai. Again Sasuke throws more kunai to see if there is a limit to the number of spikes shooting out of the sphere. **Seriously, where did those come from?**

Satisfied with the information he gathered, Sasuke jumps back and starts to focus chakra into his hand. Screeching and chirping sounds like bird calls start to fill the arena along with a strong blue light. "Chidori!" He calls out. In his other hand he holds a set of kunai at the ready. Once the chakra in his hand has reached it's peak, Sasuke starts to run towards the sphere as fast as he can. Throwing the kunai to distract some of the sand spikes, he runs at the sphere while dodging the spikes that target him. The Chidori connects, breaking through the shell of sand. Cracks form over the sphere and the sand starts to collapse here and there, revealing that Gaara has taken a hit from the Chidori to his right arm.

Gaara is staring wide eyed at his arm as blood is slowly oozing out of it. Sasuke withdraws his hand and jumps back. Temari and Kankuro are staring at their brother, both amazed someone was able to injure their brother. They are tense and on edge as if knowing that something bad is about to happen. The unnerving aura the sphere was emitting seems to double now that the shell is cracked. Gaara starts to writh and scream within the cracked sphere, holding his head. Foul chakra spikes from Gaara as sand starts to envelope him. He is struggling against it, but seems to fail. Slowly, the writhing and screaming turns eerily silent, a grin that does not belong to Gaara playing on his lips.

**My brother is awake.** Kurama's warning makes me move into a stance ready to jump in as soon as Gaara makes a move. The others around me notice my hair-trigger stance, making the Jounin and ANBU nearby mimic me.

Sasuke quickly recovers from his shock and gathers his courage, ready to attack again. He focuses charka into his hand again, getting another Chidori ready. As Sasuke starts to charge towards Gaara, Gaara let's out an earsplitting roar. When Sasuke reaches Gaara, a hand of sand reaches out, grabs him and throws him into the wall on the opposite side of the arena. The Chidori hit the wall first causing the wall to crumble around Sasuke, leaving him half burried in the rubble.

The moment the hand touches Sasuke, I launch myself at Gaara. Hitting him at full speed, Gaara is knocked back clean through the wall and into the forest outside of the arena. I shoot a quick look back to see that Kaka-nii is already at Sasuke's side, helping him up out of the rubble. There is chaos in the rest of the arena. I can see people fighting here and there, but focus back on Gaara and ignore the situation in the arena.

I turn back to Gaara and charge at him. I grab him as I run past him at full speed and drag him deeper into the forest and away from the village. Using the momentum from running, I throw Gaara against an enormous tree. The tree groans and shreeks at the impack, cracks forming in its bark, but the tree manages to stay upright. In the time it takes Gaara to recover, I call upon Kurama's chakra, letting it engulve me untill I have two charka tails. I feel my muscles shift and tense under their new found strength. As Gaara gets up from the tree, the sand moves up to cover him completely, revealing a racoon like demon. "Hello brother." Gaara's voice is high pitched and maniacally sounding. I drop down on all fours, letting Kurama take the lead on my movements. **"Hello, brother."** Kurama greets back, using my voice.

At the same moment, we launch at each other, both landing hits to each others jaws. I quickly follow with a leg swipe as Shukaku brings down his elbow to me. I manage to dodge him and throw him off balance. I follow up with an uppercut into his midriff. Shukaku jumps back before launching himself at me again. He tries to punch me in the gut, but I manage to evade it, twisting out of his way. Using the momentum from the twist, I land a hit at the back of his neck.

After Shukaku quickly recovers, we launch at each again. I aim for a kick in his side, but miss. Shukaku hits me square in the face with a head butt. I stumble back a bit, but so does Shukaku from his own hit. Taking the chance, I move and head butt Shukaku back. With a whimper he stumbles back a bit more. I push on harder, drop kicking Shukaku so he is forced to his knees. Another hit to his head makes him shake his head in dizzyness.

I feel ANBU running towards our position, Sasuke, Sakura, Kaka-nii, Temari and Kankuro in tow, but they are still far away. I ignore their presence to take advantage of Shukaku's momentary dizzyness and move in for an uppercut. At the last second, Shukaku is able to sidestep me and swings his leg around himself, kicking me in the back. With the momentum I had myself and the added force from Shukaku, I'm send flying into nearby rocks. I hear a sickening crack coming from my leg as I crash into the rocks. Kurama focusses more charka into the leg as I try to stand up, but does not waste any chakra on healing. The force from the chakra makes me able to stand on the leg, but I can see bone sticking out of it. I stare at it for a second, slightly fascinated by it. It is amazing how damaged a body can become. Movement in the corner of my eyes snaps my attention back to Shukaku.

Again I move, slowly increasing my speed while ignoring the injury to my leg. Launching back at Shukaku, I strike at him. Again and again we exchange blows. Each of my strike enforced with Kurama's chakra, each of Shukaku's strikes enforced by chakra hardened sand. Every blow hits hard. The battle is slow and long and leaves the land around us scarred. Trees have uprooted. There are deep holes in the grounds where we have been knocked into it, rocks have been cracked to smithereens. Shukaku is keeping up and jabs and hits me almost as much as I can hit him, but I still manage to keep the upper hand. Bruises and bleeding gashes are all over me. More bones than just my leg are broken and breathing is difficult, like liquid is restricting my breathing. The metalic taste of blood coats my mouth and lips. Shukaku looks exhausted, but the sand hides the extend of his injuries.

Once again I launch at Shukaku. "Narutoo!" A scream in a familiar voice echoes throw the area. I glance back to see Sasuke, the others and a group of ANBU watching us from a small distance. The moment Shukaku sees me look away, he grabs onto me, swinging me around him and throwing me towards the group of onlookers. While flying backwards, I manage to steady myself by planting a chakra claw and my feet into the ground. I face Shukaku as the momentum still has me moving away from him, leaving a deep trail in the muddy ground of the forest. Immediately I launch myself back at Shukaku, landing a solid blow to his head. Cracks form around the impact region, slowly spreading all over Shukaku. Slowly, the sand around Shukaku begins to cumble, revealing a heavily battered Gaara with a lot of similar injuries to mine. Seeing the blood oozing from Gaara sends a gleeful shiver down my spine. _I did that._

Shukaku gives off a desperate yell. As a last attemps, Shukaku prepares a Bijuudama (Tailed Beast Bomb). In response I start to make my own. The group of onlookers are quick to get away. After a couple of seconds of focussing chakra, we both launch our Bijuudama at the same time. The bombs hit each other, resulting in a land changing explosion, forming a deep crater that erases all the traces of our fight. The explosion blows Shukaku and me away. We land not far away from each other. Gaara has lost his sand cloak completely and Skukaku's presence is gone. Gaara is on his back, staring at me. _Kill._ I'm kneeling on one knee, struggling to keep myself up as Kurama slowly retreats the chakra cloak around me. _Focus._ Both Gaara and I are struggling to keep conscious from the damage we dealt to each other and from sheer exhaustion.

I force myself up to stand and after staggering a bit, I focus on Gaara. _Fear._ I manage to take a step towards Gaara. The ANBU stop at a short distance to watch how this plays out, while trying to keep the others at bay. _More._ I let a kunai drop into my hand as I take another struggled step towards Gaara, releasing new waves of killer intent. _Die._ Gaara looks at me in fear, but is unable to move. I take another step. "No!" Temari yells. "Stay away from him!" Kankuro adds in a yell. Both of them jump in between me and Gaara, standing over him protectively. Kankuro pulling at his strings and Temari with a hand on her fan, they glare at me, daring me to take another step towards their little brother. Gaara seems confused by the actions of his siblings at first, but once he realises they are protecting him, gratefulness plays on his face.

**Kit, we're done, stop now** _._ Kurama says in a soft voice in the back of my mind. I can tell he is exhausted as well. Forcing my killer intent back, I drop the kunai into the dirt and nod at Kurama. Too tired to think about it, I forget to do so in my mindscape, resulting in me nodding at the siblings. They see it as a sign I will stand down. Temari immediately swoops down on Gaara, checking to see if he is going to be alright. Kankuro keeps glaring towards me in distrust.

I feel the last bit of adrenaline fueled strenght I had left from the fight leave me and my legs buckle underneath me. Before my knees can hit the ground an arm catches me, keeping me upright. I grab the arm to steady myself. "You'r alright, I've got you... I've got you." Soothing words are whispered to me. I follow the arm to the face of the person to catch me, struggling a bit to focus my blurring vision on his face. "I'm tired, Kaka-nii." I whisper. "I'm sure you are. You did good, Naru-chan. It's okay now." Kaka-nii's voice is soft and reasuring. He scoops me up bidal style and I pass out with my face leaning against his chest. Blackness and nothingness taking me over while Kaka-nii keeps talking to me in a reasuring voice.

I slowly regain a consiousness again when I hear the shuffeling of feet near me. I frown in confusion and slightly open my eyes. I'm met with a room that's way too bright and way too white. I moan softly and close my eyes again. A hand takes hold of my arm and I feel something cold en wet touch the inside of my elbow. The feeling at my elbow changes from cold and wet to a sharp point. The familiar feeling of a needle pressed into my veins makes me shoot up and pull my arm away. All I can see is the hand with a syringe in it and short flashbacks of when I was drained by Mister. My heart rate speeds up, making the monitor I'm hooked up to beep increasingly faster. I can faintly hear a female voice talk to me, but I can't make out the words. My focus is completely on the syringe. Another hand reaches out to me and gently grabs my arm to hold me steady, while the hand with the syringe moves closer to me again. With a yelp I jump backwards out of bed, making several things that are attached to me fall over or roll out of place. I feel things rip off and out of my skin as I stumble backwards, hands raised defensively. I let out a low growl and killer intent.

The door to the room opens and Sasuke quickly walks in. He steps in front of me, blocking my view of the syringe. I duck around him a bit, trying to keep my focus on the syringe. While I move, I notice my muscles are stiff and unwilling. Sasuke grabs my hand and with his other hand he moves my face, making me focus on him. "Really dobe, I'm out of the room for one minute and you choose that moment to wake up." He chuckles a bit. Blinking a few times I give him confused look. "Wha..." I start, before shutting my mouth again, realising I don't even know what I was going to ask. Sasuke chuckles again.

My eyes shift back to the person behind Sasuke. A terrified looking nurse is standing there, holding the syringe with both hands. "Calm down, Naruto. She's not gonna hurt you. You're in the hospital. Come on, you need to be in bed." Sasuke pulls my hand to get me to move. As I try to take a step, I feel wet spots on my body. I look down and see several blotches of blood forming in the hospital gown on my arms and legs where the IV and stiches have ripped out or open. Sasuke followes my gaze, before looking at the nurse in a silent plea. "That will need attending to. If you let me, I can do that." The nurse walks towards me carefully. I give her a nod. Sasuke and the nurse help me back in bed. She starts checking my wounds and restitching them where nesserary. It appears Kurama is still out and none of my injuries have healed like they would normally.

"What happened?" I ask Sasuke.

"After Gaara knocked me into the wall, Kakashi-sensei pulled me out. After that, a large group of ninja's from Otogakure started attacking. It didn't seem well organized and it seemed like they were waiting for some form of back-up, but that never came. The Hokage and Kazekage seemed to have a discussion, even amid the chaos. The Kazekage didn't immediately tell his ninja's to help us, but after the discussion he eventually did. After an hour or so the Oto ninja started retreating. After that Kakashi-sensei, Sakura and I went after you and Gaara. A group of ANBU was send with us along with Temari and Kankuro. After we found you, we brought you both to the hospital. That was three days ago." After Sasuke finishes explaining I think about what he said for a while.

"So they tried to take down Konoha? Who was the leader?" I ask while muzing.

"Like I said, they seemed to lack organization. There was no real leader to speak of. I later heard something about their leader dying a month ago, but that they still wanted to complete his plans." I nod while thinking everything over.

"Uhm, excuse me, Naruto-kun." Snapping out of my thoughts, I turn my attention to the nurse. She looks nervous. "I uhm, I was here to take a blood sample for some tests they want to run. Could I... Could you please...maybe.. give me your arm?" I tense at her words. The look on her face makes it clear she thinks I'll panic again. I take a deep breath and I feel Sasuke grip my hand a bit firmer. _Since when has he been holding my hand?_ I hold out my arm at her. "Yes, you may." I say, my voice back to the coldness I usually use. "I must apologize for frightening you before. I was not fully awake, it seems." I say while giving her a slight bow. "Oh, that's alright. I should have made sure you knew what I was doing when I noticed you waking up, but I was too focussed on getting it done quickly." She counters. After my apology she seeems to be a lot more relaxed. She quickly draws a few vials of blood before bowing and excusing herself out of the room.

I let out a weary sigh as I drop myself back into the pillows behind me. "You can sleep if you want. I'm not planning on going anywhere." Sasuke says, trying to reasure me. I nod at Sasuke before yawning. "I'm cold, come warm me up." I say as I pull on Sasuke's sleeve. Sasuke moves to get in bed with me and I move over to make more room for him. Sasuke lies closely next to me. The warmth of his body is soothing. He begins running his fingers through my hair. I snuggle towards him for as much as my body allows me to. The steady breathing of Sasuke quickly makes me fall asleep again.

After what feels like hours of sleep, I wake up early in the morning. Sasuke is in a chair next to my bed. His head is leaning on the bed and he is asleep. I stretch myself out. After a few pops and snaps, I let out a small grunt. My muscles feel a lot better that yesterday. After checking my wounds, I see that they are all fully healed. Remembering the broken leg, I lift up the bed sheets and check my leg. The skin is healed fine. Moving my legs, I can't feel any bones scraping over each other. _I guess it's all healed. Kurama, are you alright?_ **I'm fine, kit. It took me a couple of days, but I managed to gather enough chakra to heal you last night. I won't be a lot of help for the coming time, so take it easy. Now, let me sleep for a week or so.** O _kay, thanks, Kurama, good night._


	16. Alone together...

I run my fingers through Sasuke's hair. He moves a bit but doesn't wake up. The door opens making me look up and I see the nurse from yesterday walk in. She looks amazed at the fact that I am sitting up straight. After a second of being stunned she walks over to me. "What? How? Are you alright?" I give her a curt nod and she starts checking all of my injuries to find them gone. "O, my Kami, how? Stay right here, I'm getting a doctor!" As quick as she was to enter, as quick she is gone again. I raise a brow after her. _Where am I gonna go hooked up to all this equipment?_ Sasuke has woken up from her talking, looking rather groggy _and cute_. I give him a small smile."Hey, teme."

"Hey, dobe." He puts his hand on my cheek and softly rubs his thumb over it while looking at me worried. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. It's all healed." I lean into his touch a bit, closing my eyes and enjoying the soft touch.

"How?" Before I can answer Sasuke, a doctor and the nurse walk in. _Thank Kami! I don't really know how to explain Kurama's healing..._ After the doctor introduced himself, the nurse and the doctor start looking me over. They remove the stitches that are still in my skin where the wounds were before and they start unhooking me from the equipment I am hooked onto. The doctor tells me everything checks out fine and that I am released as soon as the Hokage comes over and gives his permission. Appearantly, the Hokage himself has given instructions to the hospital not to let me or Gaara leave before meeting with him.

After the doctor leaves, the nurse excuses herself, telling us she will be right back. She leaves for a short bit and comes back with a tray full of food. I look at Sasuke. "You can't handle that right now, can you?" He asks in an empathetic tone of voice. I nod at him. He sighs, takes the tray from the nurse and places it on the bed near my feet. After sitting down he pulls out a cereal bar from the pocket of his jacket that is hanging over his chair giving it to me and he starts to eat the food on the tray. "You do need to eat something. This will do for now." Sasuke tells me. The nurse looks at us weirdly, but doesn't comment on it.

"Well, it seems everything is under control here. I guess I'll be leaving. Naruto-kun, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope to see you again, but not here in the hospital." The nurse says to me. I look up at her a bit surprised, tilting my head. _What did I do for her to like me? I didn't even bother to remember her name... Or is this just politeness? I really don't get some people._ I give her a small nod. She smiles as she excuses herself, leaving us alone.

After that, we hang around the hospital room untill the Hokage shows up around noon. As soon as the Hokage walks in, I sit up with a straight back and make my face emotionless. Kaka-nii is with him. "Yo, my cute genin. How are you two this morning?" He asks. "Fine." Sasuke answers shortly, making Kaka-nii sweatdrop a bit. "Alright then, good to hear."

"Naruto, I am relieved to see you are doing well enough to go home. Gaara has not made such a fast recovery, but it does look like he'll be alright soon enough." The Hokage starts.

Not in the mood for small talk with the Hokage, I take on a cold, business voice."Is there a specific reason why you have come here, Hokage-sama?" I ask.

"Yes. I just wanted to let you know that the battle between you and Gaara was witnessed by several ANBU, albeit from some distance. There were enough witnesses to take the fight into account when we consider the Chuunin exam results. You will both receive news about that as soon as we have made our desicion. The ninja that have seen you fight each other have all been sworn to silence. The Counsil must not know the extend of your capabilities untill the Chuunin results are officially announced. I must ask you to keep it a secret a little while longer." The Hokage takes a deep breath. "Having said that, I also wanted to tell you that you are free to discuss it the ones that have seen you, if you so choose. But, please do let me know before you do so."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Does that mean everything?" I look at the Hokage. He nods.

"Yes, since it is your team, the ANBU and Gaara's team that saw you two fight, I will allow you to share everything wih these people. Of course, Kakashi-kun already knows most of it, but I'm sure he'll have some more questions for you." Kaka-nii gives me a hopeful look that I might confide in him about this like I would have done when I was younger.

"Then I would like to hereby notify you that I will be sharing all information that I was sworn to keep a secret with Sasuke." I look from Kaka-nii to Sasuke. Kaka-nii looks a bit hurt that I refused him and Sasuke looks confused about what I could be holding a secret, but happy that I am willing to share everything with him now that I can.

The Hokage nods at us. "That is fine. Sasuke, I must warn you. These are S-ranked secrets we are talking about. They must not go further that you. Consider yourself sworn to secrecy about everything that Naruto will tell you." The Hokage turns his attention from Sasuke back to me. "For now, Naruto, I would like you to accept Kakashi-kun here to escort you back to your home."

"Any particular reason why you think Naruto needs an escort?" Sasuke asks with a causious tone in his voice.

"I believe that the people that are not friendly towards Naruto might see his dismissal from the hospital as an opportunity to catch him at a weak moment. Having you and Kakashi-kun with him should be enough to keep any incidents from accuring. I hope you do understand, Naruto, Sasuke." I give a curt nod.

"Hn. I assume the reason why people are out to get Naruto has to do with the secrets?" Sasuke asks.

"Yes, it does. But I'm sure Naruto will share everything with you in due time. On that note, I have another issue to discuss with the both of you. Kakashi-kun told me that there is a romantic involvement between you two. Is this correct?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." We respond in unison.

"That might have been a good detail to have mentioned when you came and told me you will be living with him." The Hokage gives me a stern look, but amusement twinkles in his eyes. I shrug my shoulders. "Then I will offer you a word of advice and a warning. I warn you to think about the consequences of your relationship in your function as ninja and the consequences it will have on some of your ambitions for the future. I do not need to tell you your relation will not merit any childeren. Rebuilding a clan will be very difficult without childeren." The Hokage looks more towars Sasuke than to me as he says this. As he continues, his gaze shifts to me more. "My advice is to follow your heart and find what you are most happy with. Even though the Counsil will probably stir up difficulties around your relationship, know that you have my full support, going as far as that I will allow a union between you if you should ever so desire. The only thing I would ask in return is that you are truly happy togheter. No matter what kind of relationship, that is the most important part." I look at the bed sheets in front of me thinking about the Hokage's words. _I really am selfish to keep Sasuke for myself if it destroys his ambition._

Sasuke must have read the look on my face despite me keeping a straight face, because he grabs my hands and squizes it a bit. I look up at him and he smiles at me. "You are more important than an ambition." He says in a comforting tone. I let myself smile at him.

The Hokage nods his head approvingly. "Good. Well, untill the results to the Chuunin exams are announced, you will not be assigned to any missions. It should be announced within a week. Take your time at home to make a full recovery. You must still be tired, Naruto-kun."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Both Sasuke and I say.

"Well, good day then." The Hokage leaves the room. I go into the bathroom to change into normal clothing that Sasuke has brought with him and we leave shortly after for home. When we get home Kaka-nii stays for lunch before leaving for whatever it is he is doing.

Once we are alone togheter, I tell Sasuke I'm going to take a shower. I reek of hospital and I can not wait to wash the smell off of me. I make sure the shower is quick and almost too hot to bear. After drying off, I put the towel around my waste and make my way towards the bedroom to get some clean clothing. As I walk into the bedroom, I drop the towel on the floor before diving into the closet to find some easy clothing, because we aren't planning on doing anything else today.

I put on some gray sweat pants and a skin tight, sleeveless, black shirt. I'm not entirely sure wheter the clothing are mine or Sasuke's, but I'm sure he won't mind if they are his. As I turn to walk back out of the room, I see Sasuke leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. He is studying me with intense eyes, like he is trying to see through my clothing. His gaze drifts up and down my body, lingering a bit longer on my groin area, making me blush slightly. "How long have you been standing there?" I ask him. He shrugs. "Since I saw you walk out of the shower." A smirk forms on his lips. "I quite liked that little show you put on just now, though I would have prefered it to go in the opposite order." I can feel the slight blush I had become more intense.

Sasuke quickly walks over to me with a determined stride, making me take a step back. Standing very close to me but without touching me, he leans his head towards my ear. "Do that for me." His voice is soft but full of authority. The tickling sensation of his breath in my ear and the tone in his voice sends a shiver of pleasure down my spine. "What..?" I ask a bit dazed.

A smirk forms on his lips. "I'll make it easier for you. Take your shirt off." Sasuke orders while nuzzling and sniffing my neck. He takes a step back, expecting me to obey. I grab the edge of my shirt and start to pull it off in a quick, smooth motion, but before I'm even halfway through pulling my shirt up Sasuke's hand grabs onto my elbow. I let my arms fall back down a bit again still holding the edge of the shirt as I look at Sasuke and slightly tilt my head. He shakes his head. "No, do it slowly." I nod and start to pull my shirt up slowly. Sasuke places two fingers on my belly button and starts to drag his fingers across my skin as he slowly walks around me. His eyes are locked onto the skin underneath his fingers. When he reaches my sides, my reflex is to pull away from his touch and breath out in almost a giggle. "Don't." He growls while his eyes shoot to my face, seemingly dissatisfied with me moving away from his fingers. I straighten myself up and take a quick deep breath before continuing to pull my shirt further up. He drags his fingers upwards a bit following the line of my shirt as it rises. Every time he reaches my sides, I close my eyes and fight the urge to move away or lower my arms. It becomes more and more difficult the closer he gets to my arm pits.

Once my arms and shirt are over my head, Sasuke stops in front of me. He moves the hand that has been tracing my skin to my hip and slowly runs it up my side, over my arm pit and halfway up my upper arm. He grabs hold of my arm, stopping me from taking off my shirt completely and keeping my arms above my head. He steps closer to me and leans towards my ear again. "Good boy." He whispers. I feel a jolt of happiness run through me at Sasuke's approval. He places his other hand on the sensitive skin just above my groin and slowly drags his hand over my belly, following the curves of my abs. His hand caresses the skin of my chest before finding one of my nipples. He begins to stroke and pull on my nipple, making it hard. I start breathing a bit faster and moan at his touch. Bringing his face down, he starts licking and sucking on my other nipple. The pleasure of my nipples being fondled with runs through my body, making me moan softly at his touch.

With a final lick Sasuke pulls back, leaving me panting slightly. The saliva coated nipple quickly becomes cold while the other one feels hot. Sasuke begins to trail soft kisses and licks up my chest, over my colarbone, up my neck, over my jawline and to my mouth, lingering a bit longer on the sensitive spot he had found before. He lets go of my arm and puts his arms around my waist. I throw the shirt somewhere to the side and let my arms fall around Sasuke's neck, kissing him back. He licks my lips and at the same time he pulls me closer to him hard with a grunt while he thrusts his hips towards me, making me gasp. His tongue quickly finds it's way into my open mouth, dominating the kiss. I can feel him smirk as he kisses me.

Sasuke breaks the kiss and we both suck in a much needed breath. "Still overdressed, get the pants off." Sasuke orders, before moving a few steps back. I hook my thumbs behind the elastic band of the sweat pants and slowly work it downwards untill it passes the point of no return and drops to my ankels. I step out of the pants and kick them into the general direction I think my shirt ended up in, leaving me standing in my boxer shorts that are not hiding my arrousel at all while Sasuke's eyes are raking over my body. Lust and possesiveness burn in his eyes when his gaze ends up on my groin. Stepping closer to me again, he hooks his fingers behind the elastic of my boxer short pulling it towards him. "This needs to go as well." He says while looking into my eyes.

"Not fair, you're still completely dressed." I say with a slighlty whiny tone. He grins at me. "I never said I would be fair." Sliding his hands into my boxer shorts, he pushes them down. He kneels down pulling them all the way down with him and holds them so I can step out of them. The boxer shorts are also thrown towards the rest of my clothing.

Sasuke runs a single lick up my erect shaft as he stands up. I let out a loud moan and a pleasurable shock runs through me. His hands hook behind my legs, lifting me up. I wrap my legs around his waist and I feel his eagerness pressing against me. I put my arms around his neck to keep myself up as Sasuke's hands massage my ass, a finger sometimes trailing over my hole teasingly. He walks over to the bed and lays me down on my back. He is in between my legs leaning over me, keeping my legs apart and up. He looks down on me, focussing on my cock. He grabs it and runs his thumb over the underside of the tip. I let out a loud moan and thrust my hips up into his hand. Sasuke chuckles. "Eager, aren't we?" He asks in a teasing tone before leaning down and licking a drup of precum off of my tip. A jolt runs through me and I arc my back a bit.

Sasuke sits back up again before moving forward, pushing my legs up and apart further. He places an arm across my chest, leaning down heavily onto me and kisses me. His other hand is on my cock, stroking it gently. I move my hips with his movement, panting and moaning into the messy kiss.

The motion of his hand around my cock isn't smooth because there is no lubrication. Sasuke breaks the kiss and looks down, letting out a small disapproving sound. "Let me fix that. Hold your legs." Without thinking, I do as he says grabbing my legs and pulling them up a bit further. Sasuke starts trailing kisses down my body as he moves down. He takes my legs onto his shoulders and starts kissing and licking my tip before he takes my whole length into his mouth in one motion. I gasp throwing my head back at the hot wetness that is suddenly around me, my hands let go off my legs and fly into his hair. I hold tightly onto his hair as he starts moving up and down my lenght, leaving me moaning, mewling and writhing in slightly shocking motions.

With every move up and down I feel myself getting closer. I close my eyes and start moving my hips with his movements. "Aah... Sasuke... I'm gonna... nhm." Sasuke moves all the way up and lets me out of his mouth, giving the tip an extra suck as he does so. "Hold your legs again." He tell me. Reluctantly, I let go of my secure grip of his hair and grab my legs again. As soon as I do, Sasuke steps out of bed. I whimper at the sudden loss of his body heat and him moving away from me when I'm this close. I open my eyes to see why he would leave like that. I see Sasuke quickly shedding all of his clothing while he keeps looking at me, revealing him to be as hard as I am. He gets back between my legs and takes me in his mouth again in one motion. He starts humming softly and moves faster then he did before. This time I don't allow myself to let go of my legs. After only a few more sucks, I can't hold it anymore. I gasp as I throw my head back and arch my back, pressing myself deeper into Sasuke's hot and wet mouth as I cum hard.

I'm panting for breath and trying to focus on Sasuke. Sasuke moves his mouth back up, making sure to suck me clean as he does so before releasing me completely from his mouth. Being so sentivite after cumming, the motion makes me whimper and shake. He spits a small portion of the mixture of my cum and his saliva into his hand before he swallows the rest. He puts his cupped hand underneath my balls and tilts his hand, making the mixture run down in between my cheeks. A finger runs through the mixture before being pushed inside me in a single motion. Sasuke is looking at my face to see my reaction before he starts to move his finger in and out. I throw my head back again, closing my eyes and moan. Then a second and third finger is added. I let out a small growl at the slightly unpleasent feeling of too much at the same time, but Sasuke keeps moving his fingers. Before long, the unpleasent feeling is gone and all I feel is pleasure as I lay writhing and squirming underneath Sasuke's touch and gaze.

Slowly, the fingers are pulled out of me, making me open my eyes and look at Sasuke. He smirks down at me as I lay there with my legs pulled up. He takes his time looking me up and down before he positions himself before my stretched hole. Tediously slow he starts to push himself into me. "Sasuke~e..." I mewl at him. "Please..."

He stops moving completely, earning another whimper from me. "Please what, Naruto?" He says in a teasing tone, while leaning closer to my neck.

"Agh... please... move faster..." I pant out. I let go of my legs, wrapping them around his waist and put my arms around his neck.

"Hnmm?" He hums a questioning tone into my neck, giving me goosebumps.

"Please... give me your all..." I manage to squeel out.

"Are you sure?" He whispers into my ear while smirking as he places an arm around my neck and his other hand firmly around my leg, holding me down completely.

"O Kami, yes! Please!" I beg him in a hoarse voice. Reasuring his grip around my neck and on my leg, he thrusts his hips into mine while keeping me in place. The sudden force and fullness makes my eyes roll back in my head and tighten my grip around Sasuke's neck as I let out a loud satisfied moan and I end up out of breath. Sasuke waits for me to catch my breath a bit again before he starts to move slowly. After only a couple of deep thrusts, Sasuke cums deep in my ass, but does not pull out. "So tight..." He whispers to me. His ragged breath is hot against my neck as he takes a couple of seconds to regain his bearings. He starts moving again, his hardness not faltering for a moment. I revel in pleasure as I feel small and owned with the way he lies over me, an arm around my neck and a hand firmly gripping my leg, pushing me down and keeping me in place as he thusts into me over and over again. I moan and move my hips against his for as much as I can with him holding me down.

After a while, he moves to sit up. Pulling my leg to get me closer to him, he moves me into a better position for him. He slighlty leans forward, his hand grabbing onto my shoulder. With the other hand he grabs my hips as he starts pounding into me even harder. He hits a spot he didn't reach before deep inside me making me scream out in pleassure, tears forming in my eyes and my lips apart as I pant hard and grab the sheets under me tightly. He stops moving for a second to look at me. "Oh, I like that reaction." He grins and starts moving again, making sure to hit that spot with each thrust. My moans and mewls become louder and Sasuke starts to moan with me. He drops himself onto his elbow on my stomach to get more grip on my neck and his other hand releases my hips and grabs my cock. He starts stroking it in time with his thrusts. His trusts become more aggresive and irregular. His grip on my cock tightens as he focusses his strokes more on my tip. "Sasuke..." I moan his name loudly as I cum again, coating my belly in hot seed. As I cum, I can feel myself spasm and tighten around Sasuke. He drops himself with his face in my neck, the hand on my shoulder wrapping around my neck to hold me as he groans loudly while cumming inside me again.

He lies on top of me as we lay there panting, recovering from our high. His face is still buried in my neck, kissing and licking softly. I put my arms around his neck to keep him close to me. He moves the hand that was around my cock to my face and he strokes my cheek gently. "I love you." He whispers to me.

"I love you." I whisper back.

After we catch our breath again, Sasuke wraps an arm around my waist and the other around my shoulders. His mouth moves from my neck to my ear. "Ready to go again?" He whispers softly, before turning us over, pulling me on top of him. A shiver runs down my spine at his words and feeling his hardness pressing against me again already. I can't really do anything else than letting out weak whimpers and moans as he pushes my into a straddling position on top of him, his hands firmly on my hips making me ride him at the pace he wants me to...


	17. Secrets revealed

The next morning there is a loud knock on the front door. I let it a low growl, pull the blankets up further and I try to turn around to get back to sleep. The attempt fails because of pain shooting through my lower back and bottom. I let out a pained grunt. _Damn it! I'm sore! Kurama, what the..._ _Wait_ _,_ _he's_ _still out... Fuck..._ There is another knock on the door. Sasuke looks at the clock. "6 o'clock. Who the hell is up at 6 o'clock?" He grumbles and drops himself back into the pillow.

There is another knock. I look up but Sasuke pulls me towards him. "Just ignore it, they'll go away." He says hugging me. Another knock on the door proves him wrong, though. 

"Can you just please go get the door? I wanna sleep..." I say to Sasuke a bit annoyed. _Stupid people being awake so early..._

"Yeah, I'll go..." Sasuke mumbles but he doesn't move. There is another knock, more loudly and persistent then the ones before. I let out a annoyed grunt and Sasuke just doesn't respond, asleep again already. _Oh, hell no! You_ _are_ _going_ _to_ _open_ _that_ _door_ _one_ _way_ _or another!_ _Stupid lazy ass teme!_ I push Sasuke so he rolls away from me a bit. He doesn't wake up. I keep pushing him untill he's at the edge of the bed. He's still sleeping. I poke his cheek. "Get the door, Sasuke. Whoever is it, they are not leaving." I say as there is another knock. 

"Hnn... too early..." Sasuke grunts. My eyebrow twitches in annoyance and I push Sasuke over the edge of the bed. He falls flat on his butt. "Hey, I was going!" Sasuke exclaims before getting up.

"Yeah, I noticed... Now make them go away!" I growl back. Mumbling something under his breath, Sasuke gets up to see who is at the door. I throw the blankets over my head again trying to save the disappearing warmth left by Sasuke. I don't fall asleep, but just lay here in between being awake and being asleep. I hear Sasuke and the persons at the door talk to each other, but I don't focus on it enough to make out who's voices they are or what they are saying. 

After a while the voices die out and I hear three sets of footsteps make their way to the bedroom. Two sets stop at the door and the third walks over to me. Sasuke pulls back the blankets from my head. I glare at him. "Wake up, it's Kakashi-sensei and Sakura. He wants us to train this week, starting today."

I slowly sit up with a pained groan and evilly glaring eyes, snatching the blankets away from Sasuke. He takes a step back. "I'm not getting up! I'm sore. _I_ am actually _sore_! Do you have any idea what it takes to get me sore? And it's your fault!" I say angrily to Sasuke. Sasuke gives slightly guilty look and shrugs a bit. I notice that Kaka-nii and Sakura are listening in on our conversation, but I don't care! I'm grumpy! Fuck them all! _Stupid Kurama being_ _too_ _exhausted_ _to_ _heal_ _me_...

"What in the world did you two do to get Naru-chan sore after I dropped you two off here yesterday?" Kaka-nii asks from the doorway. 

"Well, uhm we ehh... d-did some training?" Sasuke says while looking abashed and avoiding eye contact. Kaka-nii raises an eyebrow at the obviousness of the lie. 

"We had sex." I deadpan, not caring at all about what they might think. Sasuke and Sakura both turn a bright shade of red, Sasuke with embaresment and Sakura with hearts in her eyes. _Stupid_ _fangirls_ _and their_ _overactive_ _imagination..._ I'm guessing Kaka-nii is also red-faced, but the _stupid_ mask hides his face so I can't tell.

"They don't need to know that!" Sasuke hisses at me so the other two don't hear him. I Ignore him and continue in a somewhat loud and a bit angry voice. "One round was fine, the second I could handle, but beyond that... And I only just got out of the hospital as well!" I glare at Sasuke again. _Stupid teme_ _and_ _his_ _stamina.._ _._

"I didn't hear you complain yesterday!" Sasuke counters, making me glare at him. 

"Yeah, well, I'm not gonna let you get the best of me that easily!" I mumble pulling the blankets further over me. 

Sasuke moves closer and leans over me a bit, crossing his arms. "So, you're mad at me now?" He asks while raising eyes brow.

I give him a s scowl before l look away. "... No..." I admit a bit reluctantly. _Stupid cute face that I can't stay mad at..._

I move my glare towards Kaka-nii and Sakura. Kaka-nii is looking at me with a big eye, while Sakura has gotten even more red, holding her nose and surpressing squeels. When they notice me looking at them, they both back up a bit, though Sakura seems way too gleeful about the entire situation. "And then you two show up here way too early and way too loudly, waking me up!" _Stupid teammates being awake_ _so_ _damn early..._ They both take another step back due to the intensity of my glare. "How is someone who is perpetually late awake this early in the morning, anyway?"

Kaka-nii clears his throat. "So, are you two gonna get ready, then?" Kaka-nii asks in a happy tone like the whole prior conversation didn't happen. I let out a disagreable growl. _Stupid Kaka-nii not getting the message..._

Sasuke moves to walk towards Kaka-nii, but I grab his hand letting out another growl before he can even take a step. I quickly throw the blankets aside and pull Sasuke back into the bed with me. I throw the blankets over us and keep Sasuke in a secure grip to make sure he stays. "I'm not training today! Hell, I'm not even going to get out of this bed today! And I'm keeping Sasuke here too! He's mine! You two just go away now. We'll see you tomorrow... maybe." I shoo them away. I can feel Sasuke trying to supress a laugh as I yell at Kaka-nii and Sakura to leave before he accepts his fate for today turning around to face me and hug me. I hear Kaka-nii take a deep sigh. "Well, I guess it's just you and me today then, Sakura-chan. Let's just back away slowly now." I fling a kunai at Kaka-nii for that last part and they quickly start to make their way out of the house.

"And close the damn door!" I yell after them. Sasuke chuckles at that. I snuggle into his hug. We hear the front door closing shut and I take a very satisfied deep breath. _Yeay_ _, a day_ _off_ _!_

"So you're really not mad at me?" Sasuke asks again. 

"No... I'm just tired and sore... and grumpy..." I say with a sigh, relaxing into the warmth and steady breathing that is Sasuke. I can feel my mood getting better already. _Warm..._

"You want me to take it easier on you next time?" He asks, pressing a kiss on my forehead.

"Hell no, definitely not! I just forgot I wouldn't be healing as fast as I normally would do. I'm just grumpy at myself for forgetting that." My eyelids are getting heavy and I yawn. _Maybe l can sleep a bit more..._

"How does that healing of yours work, anyway?" Sasuke asks. I'm immediately fully awake again. Slight panic creeps up on me. _What_ _do I tell him? Wat_ _if_ _he_ _hates_ _me_ _,_ _like_ _the_ _rest..? Kurama..._ Remembering that Kurama is still recovering, I push myself out of the hug taking a deep breath and look at Sasuke. 

"I guess I should tell you now... Just remember that I never asked for any of this to be a secret. The Hokage made me swear to keep it a secret." Sasuke nods at me. I sit up and Sasuke follows my lead, sitting across from me cross-legged. I take a deep breath. "Okay, so you know I'm born on the same day as the Kyuubi attack. My mother was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Uzumaki Kushina, wife of Namikaze Minato, the fouth Hokage." Sasuke looks at me with a shocked expression. "My mother died because a Jinchuuriki cannot live if the Bijuu is removed from them, and the Kyuubi was removed from her. My father died sealing the Kyuubi into me." I give Sasuke a second to process the information. His expression is unreadable as he thinks. He looks at me like he wants to ask something. "Go on, ask." I tell him, nerves running through me like crazy.

He shakes his head in disbelief while still looking at me, making my heart sink. _He'll reject_ _me_ _. He'll hate_ _me_. I move back a bit and pull my legs up, putting my arms around them. "They think you are the Kyuubi, don't they? That you are responsible for everyone that died that night. They blame you?" Sasuke asks.

"Yes." I manage to say, somehow without my voice faltering. Sasuke looks angry. I look away and close my eyes. _Here it comes..._

"But you're not!" Sasuke exclaims. "You are you! How do they not see that?"

I look back at Sasuke in surprise with tears in my eyes. "What..?" I ask with doubt in my voice.

"Well, you're obviously not the Kyuubi. If you were, you would have destroyed everything after what they did to you."

I smile at him, crumbling down in relieve. "Thank you. Really. I dreaded telling you about this because of how I have been treated. I feared you would just see the Kyuubi after I told you and that you would hate me..." Sasuke quickly pulls me into a hug. 

"Really dobe, after everything you've already told me, I'm just glad to hear the reasons behind it all. I love you. I always will." I sit back up and wipe my unshed tears from my eyes as I look at Sasuke. 

"Okay, next secret. The man from the incidents at my third and fourth birthday turned out to be an ANBU captain. On my third birthday I met the Kyuubi. His name is Kurama, by the way. He trained me for a year, making me able to kill that man. After I killed him, the Hokage assigned me as an ANBU under the training of Kakashi-sensei and Iruke-sensei. After two years with them, they chose to leave me. At least, that's how I say it. We really had a close bond as a team. That's why l refer to them as big brothers. But after two years I surpassed them by being named captain. They decided to pursue different careers, thinking that if a child can surpass them they should make themselves usefull elsewhere." I zone out a bit, staring at my hands and fiddling with the blanket. "I blamed them for leaving me and I closed myself off even more. I know I shouldn't blame them. Their lives got better. But they left me behind to accomplice that. At six you can be quite selfish. I still can't really forgive them. Stupid right?" I look up at Sasuke. He puts his hands on my cheeks, wiping away the new tears I hadn't noticed falling. 

"No, it's not." He whispers to me. 

I laugh through my tears and look down. "Damn it, I'm crying again. Sorry." I say sheepishly. Sasuke shakes his head no. "It's alright." He says.

"Okay, one more secret then. After Kaka-nii and Iru-nii left me, there was only one person in Konoha besides Kurama that I would share anything with, and that was Itachi." Sasuke sits up straight and looks at me surprised at hearing his brothers name. "He chose to become an outcast to protect the village and most importantly, to protect you. He chose to protect you and leave me behind. I have more understanding for his choice than I do for Kaka-nii and Iru-nii, but I still felt betrayed, abandoned and lonely. I can only image what you must have been through. After that there were a few years of pure loneliness. Kurama was the only one to keep me together. And now I have you." Sasuke pulls me into a hug quickly, only giving me a glimpse of the tears that are rolling down his face. His breath is a bit shocky. I put my arms around him and hold him for as long as he is crying. "Will you tell me more sometime, about why Itachi did what he did?" He asks with a small voice. I nod into his shoulder. 

"We should talk about it with the Hokage. I've never really undestood why he kept this information from you. You might have been young. Seven years is young, but your life would have been so different if you just knew." Sasuke tightens his grip around me. I move so I sit on his lap, a leg on either side of his hips and put my arms around his neck in a hug. He wraps his arms around my waist and hides his face in my chest.

After a while of just hugging, Sasuke chuckles into my shirt. I look down at him. "What?" I ask curiously. 

"I just got a very strong image of a six year old blue eyed, blond boy commanding a group of adult ANBU. You, an ANBU captain at six years old. Damn, I bet you had them run laps untill they dropped." Sasuke chuckles again. 

"Oh, I definitely had them running till they dropped, and that was just to keep up with me!" I say pasionately, my hand in a fist and tilting my head backwards a bit in a victorious position. I look back at Sasuke, smirking an evil grin. "I had the new recruits shitting themselves wih nerves, fearing my every command. I had the older ANBU fear to go on missions with me, traumatising them with just the thought of it. Man, I loved that. The Laughing Red Fox of Konoha in command!" Sasuke laughs as I tell him about funny things that have happened, and cringes when I tell him about the more gory stuff I have done. I talk about everything and anything, moving my hand animatedly to emphasize everything that I am saying. Sasuke's hands that are still around my waist start to massage my lower back and butt. I lean into his shoulder, relaxing under his touch and continue to talk. "When I'm Chuunin, I can finally go back to doing real missions. It's going to be so much fun again! I did have some missions during school, of course. That's why I would be absent from time to time. But never really any of the good stuff, and not as often as I needed them. Kami, I've had several mission with new recruits that didn't even recognize me as an ANBU captain! You know, I miss people jumping aside when I walk by the most. That mask of mine did that for me. But the Hokage doesn't allow me to wear it right now, only on missions as ANBU. Oh, this one time, we had a retrieval mission. We needed to retrieve a person. Or so the Hokage thought. That person was supposed to be protected by a small army. We took them all down. Well, I did most of that. Anyway, when we came into the dungeon, we couldn't find anybody. The only living thing down there was a dog. It turned out to be a extremely smart dog that held priceless information, but still a dog. We took him back to Konoha. Oh, the look on the Hokage's face when we brought the dog in was absolutely priceless! I think the dog is with Kaka-nii's Ninkin now." I ramble on and on about everything while still sitting in Sasuke's lap. Sasuke is responding at the right intervals, encouraging me to just keep talking. I tell him about my 'hobby' in the T&I department, more about Kurama's roll in my life and why he is now out of commision for a while. Sasuke just seems to enjoy me talking so much that I can't help but continue. I feel kind of relieved as well now that I can finally tell someone everything. Of course, I keep a lot of details out, like names and locations and the more... nightmare fueling stuff, but just telling Sasuke about this all feels great. It's amazing how much can change if you can just trust someone.

A loud grumble interrupts our conversation. We both look down to Sasuke's stomach. "Well, I guess we can't stay in bed all day..." Sasuke says.

"Well, maybe you can't, but..." I start, but I'm interrupted by my own stomach complaining. I sigh in defeat. "Fine, I'll come, but you're cooking!" By the time we get to the kitchen it's already way past lunch time. I take my time looking at Sasuke as he cooks, like I always do. Sasuke doesn't say anything about it. He seems used to it by now. 

"So, are we gonna train tomorrow?" Sasuke asks me.

"Probably, but if they get here that early again, I might just throw Kaka-nii halfway across Konoha and tell him to go play with his dogs or something." I respond with a serious face. Sasuke chuckles.

"You do remember that technically he is a Jounin and you're a Genin, so he's your superior, right?" He points out. 

"Yeah, well, most likely Kaka-nii hasn't even thought about it that way, so let's just keep it that way. I really don't need him getting all bossy on me again." 

The next day and the rest of the week, Kaka-nii and Saskura show up at a reasonable 8 o'clock. It's pretty much a quiet week without Kurama in the background and without any missions. After letting the Hokage know, I've told Sakura about some of the things as well, so now my whole team knows I am an ANBU captain. Sasuke and Sakura decide that it would be nice if I train them for a few days, just to see what it's like to train as ANBU. So we are now running a training scedule that has left many an ANBU in tears. Of course, Kaka-nii has to participate as well... _Kami, I almost forgot how much fun it is to torment people!_ The setup of the training is easy enough, drain as much charka as possible in the shortest amount of time possible and then do some terrifyingly exhausting exersises like climbing a mountain or swimming against the current near a waterfall. You know, normal stuff... For those who are still able to move after that, sparring untill they can't. Of course, I'm not entirely cruel, so I make sure they always have just enough energy left to keep moving, so sparring is always part of the routine. _Maybe l am a bit cruel..._

They made it through the first three days. Sasuke is now seriously doubting that it was even possible for me to have been sore a couple of days ago from our 'sexy time', since with this training I don't seem bothered at all. But I'll have you know, both exercises use utterly and completely different muscle groups and skills, and the muscle group that was sore never had training as rigorous as that before that day!

On the fourth day when we are halfway through draining chakra, Sakura breaks down. "Can we please have a break? Please?" She begs with tears in her eyes while lying spread eagle flat on her back heavily panting. Kaka-nii is next to her, struggling to remain standing. Sasuke is a bit away breathing heavily while kneeling on one knee. "Oh, come on, it's not that bad! I'm going easy on you!" I say supressing an evil smirk.

"How is this going easy?" Sasuke asks panting.

"If he wasn't, even I would have been down on the first day." Kaka-nii says while sitting down next to Sakura with a pained groan.

I roll my eyes. "Fine, you'll get ten minutes to pull yourself back together. After that, let's start to get serious." Sasuke drops down to the ground and lies there panting. Kaka-nii also drops backwards to lie down. I'm just sitting there looking at them, silently laughing my ass off at their suffering.

After a couple of minutes, Sasuke is the first to sit up again, looking weary. Before the ten minutes are over, I start pushing then again. "Get up, we're starting again!"

"We still have a few minutes!" Kaka-nii exclaims.

"Not anymore you don't. Get up, unless you want me to make you!" Sasuke and Kaka-nii shoot up and move to stand next to each other as I had them do every time before telling them about the next exercise. They are slightly learning against each other to keep themselves upright. Sakura however, doesn't move. I walk over to her and crouch down next to her. I poke her cheek, but get no reaction. Picking her up, I throw her over my shoulder and walk over to a nearby tree. I flop her down against the tree a bit roughly to see of that will wake her up. Still no reaction. _She really is out..._ After tying her to the tree, I get back to the Sasuke and Kaka-nii. By the looks of it, they are ready to pass out as they are standing there leaning against each other.

"Alright, listen up. You are going to get ten minutes to disappear. After that I will come and find you. My Kage bunshin will go after Sasuke, I will go after Kaka-nii. If you can stay hidden for one hour, you get to go home. If not, well, then you are still in need of training, aren't you?" They both groan at the prospect.

"Will it be the same ten minutes as that we got to rest?" Sasuke als wearily.

"Probably." I say while shrugging. "Now, go!"

After seven minutes I make a Kage bunshin to go after Sasuke. Sasuke is hiding well and moves hiding places every now and then. He supresses the little chakra he has left a bit clumsely, so I find and drag him back to Sakura within twenty minutes. I tie him next to her. Ten minutes after that, Kaka-nii is also tied up next to them. Sakura is also awake again. "Guess what the training is going to be this afternoon?" I ask with a sadistic smile. All three look at me fearfully.

"Those ropes are made by me. They contain seals to strengthen them, seals that soak up the chakra if you try to use it and seals that shrink the ropes when chakra is absorbed. Good luck getting out of them! See you at home, Sasuke." I give Sasuke a quick kiss on his cheek before I shunshin home.

A couple of hours later, Sasuke shows up. He lets himself drop onto the couch on his stomach, his face in my lap. I start fiddling with his matted and sweaty hair. "You okay?"

"Of course not." He mumbles back. I let out a giggle.

"Did l go a bit overboard?" I ask. Sasuke turns to his side facing me.

"Maybe a bit, but we did ask you for it. Kakashi-sensei did warn us." Sasuke says with his eyes closed. I can feel him relax in my lap. "We talked about it when we were tied up. We're giving up." He mumbles sleepily.

"Have you now? Wat if l don't let you?"

"Wat are you ging to do, tie us up again? A whole day tied to a tree would be a nice break!" I laugh at that. Sasuke also let's out a weak chuckle. A few seconds later he is asleep. I let him sleep for an hour before getting him up for a shower and dinner. After that, it's an early nights sleep for both of us.


	18. Trouble brewing

At the end of the week Shikamaru, Sasuke and I are called into the Hokage's office. Sasuke and I arrive a bit early, so we need to wait for a while. _Then again, I never really wait for the Hokage to call me into a meeting._ We are in front of the window of the Hokage's office. I move to open the window. "Are we supposed to go in there already? The meeting is in ten minutes." Sasuke asks while fidgeting a little.

"It's fine. Just follow my lead." I tell Sasuke with a grin. He looks at me before shrugging. Straightening my face into my emotionless act, I push the window open and just walk in. Like I always do, I ignore everyone in the room and flop down on the couch. This time, face down stretching all over the couch not really leaving any place for Sasuke. Sasuke walks in close behind me and falters for a second. After blinking a few times, he shrugs again and sits down on my legs, yawns and leans his head back, closing his eyes. I hear the Hokage sigh deeply. _Well done, Sasuke! Mental note: Give Sasuke a reward..._ The hokage doesn't respond any further, leaving us be on the couch. "What are the gaki's doing here? Why aren't you kicking them out?" A man with white hair, mostly dressed in gray and red and with a big scroll on his back asks.

The Hokage sighs again. "Well, Jiraiya, I have a meeting with them in ten minutes. The blond kid is Uzumaki Naruto. The black haired kid is Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto here has build up the bad habit of just entering the office when he pleases and taking the couch hostage. It seems he's rubbing off on his team mate as well."

"Boyfriend." I correct the Hokage with my face still in the pillow, holding up one finger before flopping my hand down wearily. The Hokage sighs again.

"Uzumaki Naruto, huh. So he is the son of..."

"The fourth, yes I am." I interrupt Jiraiya.

"Hey, don't you interrupt your elders, gaki!" Jiraiya says insulted.

I move my face to the side, so I can coldly glare at Jiraiya, looking him up and down. "Yes, you certainly are an elder." I say with a cold voice. _Too easy..._ Jiraiya makes some strangles indignified sounds before looking at the Hokage, but finds no support there. The Hokage is trying to suppress an amused grin and I can feel Sasuke trying to keep himself from laughing as well.

"That gaki, I swear I'm gonna..." Jiraiya mumbles underneath his breath followed by a few profanities that best go unheard. "Hey, did you just say Uchiha Sasuke?" Jiraiya looks between the Hokage, Sasuke and me. The hokage nods and I just continue to glare. Sasuke sits up straighter with a small groan like he just woke up from a nap.

"Yeah, he did. Why?" He asks.

Jiraiya looks at Sasuke. "You're the last Uchiha, then?"

"Technically." Sasuke responds in a bored voice, dropping himself back into the couch and leaning his head back again.

"Interesting." Jiraiya says while musing.

"Jiraiya, is there anything else we need to discuss?" The Hokage asks, snapping Jiraiya out of his thoughts.

"Well, nothing to discuss in front of the gaki's anyways. I'll be back later to give you the rest of the information." Jiraiya responds glaring at us. "Why do you let two gaki's interrupt a meeting, Sensei?" He adds in a whisper, thinking we can't hear him. Sasuke can't, but I pick it up without effort.

"Because ANBU captains are allowed to attend meetings as security and as a way to gain information relevant to their missions and ongoing assignments." I say in a cold voice, still glaring at him. Jiraiya looks back in surprise.

"How did you hear me and what do you mean with ANBU captain?" He asks.

I look at the Hokage, making him sigh yet again. "Fine, Naruto, you might as well tell him. In ten minutes it'll be official and Jiraiya will need the information anyways." The Hokage says wearily.

I move my glare back to Jiraiya. "I'm the Laughing red fox of Konoha." I deadpan. Jiraiya starts laughing out loud, before he stops abruptly, realising he's the only one laughing.

"What, you aren't serious, are you?" He says looking at me. I don't respond. He turns to the Hokage. "Is he serious?" He asks the Hokage. He simply nods.

"But how? Why?, Wha..." Jiraiya sputters, trying to find the words to form a proper intelligent question before looking at me and falling silent. Before anyone can say anything else, there is a knock on the door.

"Ah, that will be my next appointment. Jiraiya, I'll have to ask you to come back this afternoon. I'll explain more then." The Hokage states in a business like voice.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Jiraiya says while making a small bow and shunshinning from the office.

"Come in!" The door opens and Shikamaru, Asuma-san and Kaka-nii walk in. All three look surprised to see us here already. Sasuke stands up and walks to stand next to Shikamaru. Shikamaru and Sasuke are standing in front of the Hokage at attention, hands behind their backs and legs slightly apart. Kaka-nii and Asuma-san are standing a bit further back behind Sasuke and Shikamaru from the Hokage's point of view. I haven't really moved and am still face down on the couch in the corner, but with my legs up swaying them a bit. I feel suddenly overcome by a unnatural tiredness despite not having done much of anything lately. I can hardly bring up the effort to be interested in anything that is happening in the room around me, yet moments ago I felt highly entertained and energetic while messing with Jiji and Jiraiya. _What's wrong with me?_ "Naruto, if you don't mind, I would like to get started." The Hokage says.

"I don't mind." I say back in a cold voice, but showing no signs of moving at all. Sasuke rolls his eyes and Shikamaru mumbles something that sounds like "Troublesome." The Hokage sight again. "Please go and stand next to Sasuke and Shikamaru so we can get started." He says in a commanding voice. I drag myself up with effort though I don't show it and move to stand next to Sasuke. I leave as much space between Sasuke and me as there is between Sasuke and Shikamaru. Putting my hands behind my back and placing my feet slightly apart, I assume the same position as Sasuke and Shikamaru. From the moment I start moving, Kaka-nii and Sasuke give me a worried look. Both of them probably have realised I'm not okay. Kurama still hasn't woken up yet, so I can't ask him what's wrong with me. I guess I'll just have to act like I'm fine untill after the meeting.

"Alright. Thank you for coming. It is with great pleasure that I can tell you all three of you have made it through the Chuunin exams successfully and you have shown us enough for us to name you Chuunin. Congratulations!" The Hokage starts in a cheerful tone. "With gaining in rank, you will receive more responsibilities and will be allowed to go on harder and more demanding missions than as a Genin." Shikamaru let's out a groan like he is suffering greatly. "You will get more chances to prove your worth and will be able to specialise into the fields that interests you the most." I blink my eyes a few times. My vision is a bit blurry and I can't really focus on what the Hokage is saying. My cheeks feel like they are burning and I feel a weird kind of pressure building up inside me. "All three of you have earned this promotion. I expect you to work hard and prove that you are indeed worthy of this promotion. Now, there is also a promise I need to keep and I will do so happily. Uzumaki Naruto." At hearing my name I force myself to look at him alertly like nothing is wrong. The Hokage doesn't notice my silent suffering and continues. "I hereby reinstate you to the position of ANBU captain with the same rights and arrangements as before your forced resignation." During the Hokage's short speech I start leaning into Sasuke a bit, unable to fully support my own weight while staring at the floor. It's a move I have made time and time again and comes naturally and Sasuke snakes an arm around my waist almost in reflex, without looking at me. The Hokage continues to talk, but I don't hear any of what he is saying, too focused on just keeping my eyes open and looking like I'm fine. Somewhere in the corner of my eyes I see Shikamaru move around a bit.

A wave of heat hits me. My hands are shaky and I feel a layer of sweat forming on my face. When the Hokage is done speaking, both him and Sasuke turn look at me, both with a small but proud smile. Both their smiles falter into worry when they see my face. _I must look like crap._ I lean my hip into Sasuke's hip more heavily now as I feel more of my strength leave me.

I loose my footing a bit and shake my head to get some of the dizziness away. "Naruto, what's wrong?" Sasuke asks while moving to get a better grip on me as he feels me slip down now that I have put my full weight on him. My stomach churns at the motion Sasuke is forcing me into and I can only shake my head weakly in response to his question, closing my eyes and keeping my yaws tightly shut as nausea washes over me. Sasuke moves again so he is standing in front of me. I lean into his chest and let him keep me on my feet. Raising a hand, Sasuke moves to touch my forehead. As soon as he touches my bare skin, he quickly pulls his hand back and shakes it like he burned his hand. Worry knits his brow as he looks at me. I drop my face on his shoulder and concentrate on keeping my breathing steady. The world is spinning around me and the only thing I can find any kind of steadiness in is Sasuke's arms around me. I hear distorted voices around me before I feel another hand land on my shoulder and the tilting of the world increases, forcing a grunt of displeasure out of me before I suck in a deep breath. Sasuke's arms disappear from around me and I feel something hard and cold press against my back.

It takes a couple of seconds before I realise that I'm on my back on the floor with people looming over me. The pressure in my stomach increases, making me grab my stomach with both hands and curl up on my side. The incoherent buzz of voices around me combined with hands trying to comfort me and touch me makes me close my eyes and cover my head with one hand while I keep the other tightly grasped around my stomach as I try to block out any and all external stimulants. Even the sound of my own breathing feels like it's too much. The pressure in my stomach starts to spread through my body making me wince.

A particular strong spike of pressure rips through me, making it feel like my intestines are ripped apart. My eyes fly open as I arc my head backwards a bit and I gasp for air. The scene before me makes me temporarily forget about the sensation raking through my quivering body. I'm seeing both my mindscape and the real world at the same time. My mindscape is clear and well divined and the real world is overlayed over it like a glass pane on wich you can see the reflection. It's clear, but unreal. I can see Sasuke and Kaka-nii kneeling next to me, trying to find out what's wrong, but neither are touching me. Another jolt of pressure runs through me, forcing me to separate my mind from my body. I get up and look back. My body has fallen still completely with dulled eyes and quick, shallow breaths. I can see Sasuke panicking and Kaka-nii talking to him to try and calm him down, but I can't hear anything they say. Sasuke places a hand on my cheek only to pull it back yet again as though he burned it. I can see now that he actually has.

A loud grunt pulls my attention away from the glass image of the Hokage's office. I look around to find a whimpering mess of red fur not too far away from me. "Kurama?" I carefully walk towards him. "Kurama, are you alright?" I place a hand on his big nose. Scorching heat makes my palm blister and the stench of scorched flesh reaches my nose, but I keep my hand on his nose because I notice him slightly relaxing under my touch. "So you're the cause. Can you hear me?" A big weary red eye opens and looks at me, followed by another grunt before the eye closes again wearily. **Kit...** Kurama's voice is strained and hollow. He let's out a long strained breath as he sighs in relieve to see me. His breath is unbearably hot and I see my skin turn red here and there with even a couple of blisters. "Tell me what to do." I say in a worried voice as I put my other hand on his nose and let it blister like my other. **Touch me...**

"Touch you?"

Kurama let's out a soft confirmative grunt. **Need your chakra... to balance mine...**

"You know you can have my all. Tell me how." I tell him in a soft voice.

**I'll take it.** There is a bit more strenght in his voice and he opens both eyes. I nod at him and take a step back. "Okay, have at me then." I take a deep breath as I prepare for my chakra levels to drop drastically in the upcoming few minutes. This is going to be unpleasant. A tail wraps around my waist, pulling me to Kurama's side. I gasp at the sensation of Kurama's heat burning my skin at his touch. As soon as I feel Kurama pulling at my chakra, I let out a groan. A weird tingling sensation starting in my hands and feet and moving towards the center of my body runs through me as my chakra flow is involuntarily reversed and pulled through the cracks in the seal. My heart rate increases and my breathing becomes strained to compensate for the sudden loss of energy. I feel light headed and feverish. The chakra is being pulled out in irregular chunks, making me grunt softly every time a large portion disappears in one go.

Feeling the strenght leave my limbs as the chakra is pulled back, I start to lean into Kurama's tail. Kurama's tail wraps around me more firmly. "Kurama... too much..." I breath out in a husky voice while closing my eyes. "Please... slow down." I suck in a sharp breath and throw my head back as a large chunk of chakra is pulled away from me. Kurama's tails flick behind him and he moves one to caress the back of my neck, before pressing against me. "Don't touch me more... Too hot..." I breath out. Ignoring me, Kurama wraps the tail around my neck. The heat from the tail quickly runs through me, leaving me in a feverish high as my body goes limp even further and I gasp for breath. All I can think about is the heat around me and everything else has been banished from my mind. Kurama starts to push a small amount of his chakra into me, making me moan in relieve as his chakra prevents me from feeling the heat. As his chakra runs through me, the burns on me disappear. Kurama's chakra stabilized my body and compensates for a small part the loss of my chakra. The sudden loss of heat, though welcome and relieving, leaves me shivering and panting. The tail around my neck pulls back all too quickly, leaving me feeling exposed and cold as though a warm blanket is suddenly pulled off of me. A small whimper escapes me before I open my eyes and realisation of where I am comes back to me. Kurama is looking at me to see if I'm alright. I look back at him and give him a small smile and a nod.

**I'm sorry.** Kurama's voice is clear, alert and sencere. All traces of his previous condition are gone. "It's alright." I say still slightly panting at the loss of energy. Slowly, Kurama pulls back his other tail from my waist as if afraid that pulling his tail back too quickly will break me. "It's okay, Kurama, I'm fine. Just tired." Kurama moves his head towards me and sniffs me to make sure I'm really alright. I place my hands on his nose as he does so. This time, there is no scorching heat. I sigh with relief. "So what was wrong?" **I was accumulating chakra from Nature to recover myself from the fight with my brother, but some Hateful chakra got pulled in as well. I don't know what the source was. It came from far away, but because of my affection for** **Hatred** **it caused a** **catalystic** **reaction with my own chakra, creating heat. I'm sorry, kit, I think I really hurt your body with this.**

"I'll be fine, Kurama. It's probably not the worst damage that has been done to me anyways. Hell, I've probably done more damage to myself at some point..." I trail off a bit at the end of my sentence when a few memories bubble to the surface. After a second, I pull myself back together.

**You should probably go back now, kit. Your humans and your mate are worrying over you.**

"Yeah, probably... Wait, mate?"

**Yes, mate. You really** **expected** **me to be able to sleep through that all? Kit, nobody could have slept through that!** I feel heat rising up to my face as a heavy blush creeps onto my cheeks. It's one thing to rant about it while grumpy without going into any real detail, but it's a whole other thing to know we had a unwilling and unknown audience member, especially a parent-like figure like Kurama is for me.

"Y-you couldn't have, you know, blocked it out or s-something?" I ask tentatively and embarrassed.

**Kit, if you let go of all control, I can't control anything either. Don't worry. We demons view mating in a very different light than you humans do anyway and there is nothing to be** **embarrassed** **about towards me. I just loved seeing you so completely free. Now go! They are waiting for you.** I begin to sputter some incoherent sounds as protest as I feel Kurama push me out of my mindscape and back into reality.

I sit up quickly while sucking in a deep breath. "Stupid fox..." I mutter under my breath and looking down at my hands. Looking up, I see Sasuke and Kaka-nii kneeling in front of me with surprised faces. Sasuke is the first to move, placing a hand on my face once again. This time, very carefully. When the skin that meets his hand doesn't burn him, his other hand is moved quickly to my face as well, cupping my cheeks before he pulls me into a hug. "What the hell was that?" He whispers to me.

"I'm fine, Sasuke. It wasn't me who was the cause. It's okay now." I tell him while hugging him back. Pushing Sasuke back, I move to stand up only to find that I don't have enough strength to do so. "Huh, so he took that much, did he?" I mutter to myself again. Kaka-nii eyes me suspiciously. "Care to elaborate, Naru-chan? You've just had a fit and an impossibly high fever, followed by ten minutes of talking to yourself and grunting..." I look at Kaka-nii in slight confusion before my eyes widen in realisation hits me. "I've said everything out loud? Every sound I made was out loud?" Kaka-nii and Sasuke nod affirmatively. I take a deep breath and collect my thoughts to regain control over myself, dawning my emotionless mask on once again.

"Naruto, can you tell us what just happened?" The Hokage asks. I move my field of vision from Sasuke and Kaka-nii to the Hokage standing behind them. Shikamaru and Asuma-san are standing next to him.

"I don't know, can I?" I throw back at the Hokage in a cold voice while giving Shikamaru and Asuma-san a short glance before looking at the Hokage again. Getting the hint, he sighs.

"I'm guessing that Shikamaru-kun has figured most of it out already, so go ahead and explain." The Hokage says with a nod.

"Alright, Kurama absorbed Hateful chakra that catalyzed a reaction with his own, overheating both him and me. He took most of my chakra to balance out and stop the reaction and reverse its effect for as far as possible. Because I didn't knowingly or willingly go into my mindscape, I guess my body must have remained connected to what was happening in my mind, resulting in a physical display of what happened in my mind. Currently I am drained of enough chakra to be unable to stand up. The overheating also did significant damage to my body on a cellular level, especially my ligaments and tendons, which contributes to my inability to move right now. A few vital organs have also suffered enough damage for Kurama to prioritize the healing of those over the rest of my body. Kurama is working on healing as much as possible as we speak, though judging by the stressed feeling throughout my body, I will probably be out of service for a day, maybe a day and a half." I state in a cold voice, while Kurama provides me with additional information from the back of my mind.

"So, who is Kurama?" Shikamaru asks curiously. I shift my gaze from the Hokage to Shikamaru.

"The Kyuubi no Kitsune that was sealed in me on the day I was born." I tell him without a hasitation. His face scrunches up as he thinks before realisation dawns on Shikamaru's face when he quickly clicks everything he knows about me in place with this new fact to get a more complete picture of my situation. "Troublesome." Shikamaru sighs before resuming looking bored.

"And the seal?" The Hokage asks a bit anxiously for my reaction. I look back at the Hokage and slightly tilt my head.

"Uncompromized as always. I would never let it falter as you very well know." I shoot a glare at the Hokage for even bringing it up.

The Hokage fidgets a bit under my glare. "I know, I know, just checking, you know, as the Hokage..."

After that, the Hokage dismisses Shikamaru and Asuma-sensei. Another interrogation is launched at me in order to determine whether or not I need the hospital. Thank Kami Sasuke is on my side on this one and he just wants me home so he can take care of me and watch over me. Seeing how I'm still unable to get up on my own, Kaka-nii decides to escort us home once again and to carry me bridal style while doing so. After loud protests from me and a lot of sniggers from Sasuke, I give up and just try to save as much of my dignity as possible by just ignoring the world and hiding my face in Kaka-nii chest.

Once home Kaka-nii drops me on the bed, making me let out a small yelp at the sudden falling sensation. Unable to catch myself properly, I land ackwardly on my back knocking the air out of me with a grunt. Sasuke looses his temper over seeing me being dropped like a sack of potatoes by Kaka-nii and starts yelling profanities at him for abusing someone that's recovering while literally kicking Kaka-nii to the door. Kaka-nii starts protesting over being kicked out, yelling something about wanting a home cooked meal for his efforts in taking us home like always and me being a fast healer so it shouldn't really matter. Sasuke counters his arguments by calling him an inconsiderate ass twat and yelling that injuring someone is always bad even if they do heal fast. I can't help but chuckle softly at the overprotectiveness of Sasuke and the blatant ignorance of Kaka-nii about what he did wrong in Sasuke's eyes. Turning to my side with a little effort, I collect Sasuke's side of the blankets into my arms. I hug into the blankets that always smell so much like Sasuke and I sigh as I relax myself. _Who would have thought I'd ever find a place I can_ _truly_ _call home?_ Kurama hums in agreement in the back of my mind. I revel in the realisation of how much the definition of 'home' has changed for me in the past months.


	19. Marked

Sasuke walks back into the bedroom to find me cuddling into and sniffing his blankets. "What are you doing?" He asks, sounding slightly suspicious. I give a soft groan in response. Sasuke chuckles. "If you want to smell me so badly, I know a better way to do that." Sasuke says as he sits on the bed behind me. His hand buries itself in my hair, nails scraping my scalp. I let myself pur and relax at the feeling. Sasuke chuckles again. "I love that reaction." He bends over and caresses the back my neck with his lips and nose, giving me goosebumps. Sasuke uses the hand that was in my hair to wipe some stray strands of hair out of my face, leaning over me a bit. "So, are you really alright?" He asks with serious voice. I turn to him and look at him over my shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You're fine, but you can't move?" Sasuke asks raising an eyebrow. 

"Well, 'can't' is a big word. I mean, I can..." Sasuke interrupts me by pressing his lips over mine. I feel his hand land on my hip before he pulls at me to place me flat on my back. Without breaking the kiss, Sasuke moves to sit on top of me, straddling my waist. He is leaning on his elbow next to my head with his hand pressed on top of my head. His other hand lands on my hip before moving up underneath my shirt, slowly and softly trailing his fingers over my skin. Goosebumps follow his touch when he gets to close to my sides, but I stay still because I don't want him to stop. The soft pressure of his tongue on my lower lip makes me open my mouth for him. I place my hands on his side and grip his shirt as he deepens the kiss, moaning softly into it. 

Breaking the kiss to get a much needed breath, Sasuke places soft kisses from my lips over my jaw to end up at my ear. "This should be fun. I get to do what I want then." He whispers. I feel my face getting red at the suggestion and I'm glad Sasuke has his face in my neck so he doesn't see it. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you this time." His soft breath tickles in my ear and although I can't see his face, I can hear the smirk in his voice. He softly kisses the edge of my ear, before dragging his teeth over the skin of my neck. He ends his trail when I let out a soft moan, indicating he found a sensitive spot and I move my head sideways so he can have more access. He gently presses his teeth into the spot without bruising or breaking the skin before licking softly and sucking at it hard enough to make a bruise, earning more moans from me. He moves back to sit between my legs while he looks at the bruise he made on my exposed neck, tilting his head a bit. "Could you... not heal that?" He asks as his eyes shift from the bruise to my eyes. There is a possessive glint in them, almost demanding a confirmative answer from me.

"You want to keep me marked?" I ask him, a shiver of delight running down my spine from the way he looks at me. 

"Yes." Sasuke's short and honest answer rings through me, making me suck in a ragged satisfied breath. If I had the strenght to get myself up to sit in his lap and hug him, I would have. Instead, I reach my arms out, inviting Sasuke to come close to me. He bends down into my embrace, burying his face into my neck, one hand on my the crook of my neck and the other next to my head for support. I can feel his breath tease over my skin as he takes in my scent. "You could really mark me. I could make you a seal that would only disappear if you release it." I whisper, strengthening my arms around his neck for as much as I can. Sasuke also tightens his grip on my neck. 

"Hnn, what else would it do?" Sasuke says trying to sound nonchalant, but I hear curiousity and a little greed in his voice. He starts kissing and licking my neck and he moves his legs so mine are over his, pushing me legs apart and up. 

"What do you want it to do? I could make it little more than a tattoo made out of your chakra, or I could make it deadly for me if I am too far away from you." I tell him, my breath already slightly panting. A satisfied hum from Sasuke in my neck makes me moan. Sasuke lets out a short laugh in my neck at my reaction, making me moan again. "Keep talking." He gently whispers into my ear as he moves to sit up again. His hand are on my hips, fingers trailing underneath the hem of my shirt.

"I could make it so that I have to obey everything you say, or I could make it a suicide switch with you holding the trigger." Sasuke's hands disappear underneath my shirt, working it upwards to pull it over my head. I willingly move with him so he can take my shirt off. His hands land on my sides, just above my hips and he looks down at me expectedly, so I continue to sum up everything and anything that comes to mind now that I can still gather my thoughts. "I could make it reactive with my chakra so you'll always know where I am, or I could put a restraining seal into it so you could restrain my movements if you want to. I could..." I interrupt myself with a moan as Sasuke places his hands on my nipples, slowly flicking and pulling them, while he brings his head down to kiss the sensitive skin above my groin. Pulling his hands over my skin towards the edge of my pants, I arc myself towards his touch while throwing my head back. His tongue runs up my belly untill he reaches my belly button. After a kiss, he rests his forehead on my stomach as his hands start to fiddle with undoing my pants. 

Before long, my pants and underwear are gone as well and I lay sprawling naked and erect in front of a fully dressed Sasuke once again. He smirks down with a knowing look, looking me up and down once again. "I'll need to find a good place for that seal." Sasuke says with misschievous eyes. I just smile back at him, my mind already pulling up a blank at his touch and gaze. Sasuke undresses himself before leaning over me again to kiss me. He grabs both my hands with one of his, pinning them above my head by leaning on them. With his other hand he holds my jaw, moving my head into the possition he likes it best as he kisses me. His bare skin rubs over mine with every move he makes, sending goosebumps crawling over my skin. He sits back a bit, the hand on my jaw slides down to rest on my neck. His thumb rubs softly over my adam's apple as he looks down at me again possesively. "All mine." He growls. I feel a blush form on my face togheter with a small smile that doesn't go unnoticed by Sasuke. His face cracks into a smile taking my reaction as a confirmation of the claim he just made on me. 

He lets go of me and moves back further and I see his smile turn into a smirk. "I didn't get to see every side of you last time." He says with a cocky voice. "I'll make sure to see the rest today." His hands get a firm grasp on me and he turns me around and pulls me towards him with his arm around my hips, placing me in front of him on my hands and knees. I yelp at the sudden movement and Sasuke chuckles at my reaction. His hand lands on my hips before his nails run over the small of my back to get me to relax and I give into it by relaxing my back. Sasuke slowly removes his other arm from around my waist to see if I'm strong enough to support myself. Once he is satisfied with the fact that I can, I feel him bend sideways before I hear the rustling of a package, followed by something cold, wet and slick in between my cheeks. Sasuke throws the bottle next to me and I see that it's a bottle of lube. _When the hell did he have the time to get that?_ A hand slick with cold lube wraps itself around my hardness, pulling me out of my surprise at seeing the bottle as I close my eyes at the touch and gasp. His hand starts to slowly moving up and down the length while fingers enter my hole one by one. Moving in and out and stretching me, the fingers are trying to find that one spot, but they can't quite reach it. 

After a while my moans start to turn into whimpers because he doesn't reach the spot and I start to move my hips into the fingers trying to get them there. Abruptly, Sasuke pulls back both hands from me. Before I can even make my complaints about the sudden loss of contact known, one hand lands at the base of my neck, pushing me down while the other is keeping my hips up. I let it a small grunt as I'm pushed down. Sasuke moves to position himself and slowly adds pressure by pressing his hips towards me. In one smooth motion, Sasuke sinks into me. He lets out a grunt and I gasp for breath, my hands grabbing the sheets in front of me firmly. Sasuke waits a couple of seconds before giving me a small nudge with his hips to see how I'll react. I let out a moan and press myself towards him in answer, indicating I'm ready and willing for more. Sasuke starts moving slowly as his hand on my hip slides over my back and grabs my hair, pulling my head back up while his other hand is still keeping my neck pressed down. 

Sasuke corrects his possition behind me, trying to find that spot deep inside me. As soon as he hits it, I let out a loud uncontrolled moan. Sasuke lets out a satisfied grunt at my reaction and he starts moving faster and stronger. Dispite the firm grip on my hair and the hand holding my neck, I feel myself slip away a bit which causes Sasuke to lean on me more heavily. I place my hands against the headboard in front of me to push myself back in the position I was in and to keep myself up. Sasuke makes an approving sound at my action, tightening the grip on my hair and pulling a bit harder. He starts to move faster and make deeper strokes, making me whimper and moan. With each stroke, I feel the pleasurable tension building up inside me. 

After a while, Sasuke's pace becomes more irregular and forcefull as he starts moaning with me. The hand on the base of my neck is pulled back to snake around my hips, giving Sasuke more grip so he can add a bit more force into his thrusts. The new force push me over the edge and I cry out loudly as I cum, loosing strength in my whole body and leaving me panting for air. Sasuke keeps me up with the arm around my waist and with a couple more deep thrusts Sasuke cums deep inside me, making me cry out once again. Pulling his hand out of my hair, he places it beside me and leans over me, heavily panting but still keeping my hips in his grasp. 

Sasuke slowly lowers himself onto his side, pulling me with him so I lay in front of him being spooned. The arm around my waist moves to rest across my chest and his other slides underneath my head so he is hugging me tightly. After we both catch our breath and cool down a bit, Sasuke pulls the blankets over us. He starts placing soft kisses in my neck and I sigh in satisfaction while relaxing in his embrace and warmth."You should go take a bath and then get some sleep. You must be tired." He whispers softly to me, but with a commanding edge in his voice.

"You're the one who kept me awake..." I mumble to him in a sleepy protest. Sasuke chuckles softly. "Just do what I say, love. When you wake up, I'll dote upon you further." I grin at Sasuke's choice of words as Sasuke moves the arm around my chest to gently stroke the hair out of my face. He gives me another kiss before he gets up and starts running a bath. Coming back into the bedroom, he helps me into the bath before going to change the bedsheets. Once he's done, he joins me in the bath. When we are in bed again, I slowly fall asleep with Sasuke fidgetting in my hair. 

When I wake up, it's to the smell of food being prepared. I stretch myself out, popping a few joints and I sit up. Looking around I see that Sasuke is not in the room with me. **Kit, we need to talk to the old man about the source of the Hateful chakra. We cannot risk other** **Bijuu** **or** **Junchuuriki** **being affected by this.** _Well, good morning to you too..._ **Yeah, sure, now get up and go to the Hokage.** _Fine._ I get up, use the bathroom and then make my way to the kitchen. Sasuke is running around cooking something. "Smells nice." I say as I sit down. 

Sasuke looks over his shoulder to me, before turning around and continuing what he was doing. "Good, cause I'm making it for you. I was going to wake you up as soon as I was done. " He tells me. After eating and reasuring Sasuke I'm completely fine and that my chakra is almost fully back again, we go back to the Hokage's office to discuss the issue from yesterday again. He agrees to send us as team 7 on a reconnaissance mission to find the source and determine the threat level. So he also calls in Sakura and Kaka-nii to give a full debriefing for the mission. He also tells us that this will be the last mission as team 7, because afterwards, I'll continue my duties as ANBU, Sasuke will pick up a training scedule and missions as a Chuunin and Sakura will take on an apprenticeship in the hospital to further her medical training, leaving Kaka-nii free to take on a new Genin team when the next group graduates. We are to leave tomorrow morning, giving us some time to prepare for a mission of unknown time duration. 

After being dismissed, Sakura walks up to me. "I really like your hair like that. It looks nice!" I tilt my head at her. "What are you talking about?" I ask in a cold voice. Sasuke laughs behind me and he puts his arm around my shoulder. "I did that last night. Nice, right?" Kaka-nii walks up to us.

"Yeah, it looks good!" Kaka-nii confirms. Sakura takes out a small hand mirror from one of her pockets and gives it to me. I look into it to see a braid on each side of my face running to the back of my head. I feel the back to find the two braids meet and continue further down as one. A couple strands of hair are still in my face, framing my jaw line. I blink at my reflection a couple of times, making both Sakura and Sasuke laugh. Kaka-nii stands there creepily grinning. Sasuke pulls me towards him so our foreheads are pressed together. "You're cute." He tells me before pulling me with him back to our house.

I use the rest of the morning to draw up the basics for the seal that Sasuke wants on me. After a while, Sasuke walks into the study and stands behind me, leaning over my shoulder to look at my work. "How do you work in this mess?" He asks. He hasn't been in this room since I started using it as a study. I look around to see what he is talking about. Papers with half finished and disregarded drawings litter the floor. There are piles of scrolls and stacks of books all around the study and there is literally a small narrow path of carpet visible from the door to the desk, the rest of the floor is hidden underneath paper. "I don't know what you are talking about. This is perfectly organized chaos." I tell him. 

**Yeah right, you're just too lazy to clean...**

"Hn. If you say so." Sasuke and Kurama talk at the same time, but I can do follow what both of them said. I roll my eyes at the both of them. 

"I can find anything I need in here without effort!" I counter to both of them.

**That's because you don't need anything from the disregarded piles!**

"O really? But you wouldn't be able to reach it because of all the rubbish." Sasuke and Kurama say at the same time again.

"Let me just have my mess, would you? I keep the rest neat!" I tell them both again. Sasuke, to indicate that I don't leave a mess in the rest of the house and Kurama that I changed up my mindscape for him beyond measure so he can live comfortably.

**Sure, kit.** Kurama settles himself on one of the many pillows he had because of me.

"That's true." Sasuke admits while giving me a quick kiss.

"So, what do you want in the seal? It'll determine where it needs to be placed." I turn the chair around so I'm facing Sasuke. 

"You said you could make it so that I know where you are. I like that idea. Also, I want to be able to make you feel what I want you to feel when I want you to. Maybe also some control over your movement freedom, but I do want you to be able to break that whenever you want. And it needs to be clear you are mine." Sasuke says while pressing his forehead against mine. I blush a bit and turn around to face the table again. I take out a big piece of paper and start designing it to Sasuke's wishes. I check the design again with Kurama. **Kit, you really need to put in a fail safe for if either of you should die. If you or Sasuke were to die with the seal like this, your soul will still be marked.** _I know, I'll put a lock thread in it that unravels the seal_. **But that only works if you deliberately push chakra into it and in a very specific and tedious pattern to remember, so only you will be able to remove the seal.** _I know, your point?_ **No, nothing. It's fine.** Kurama shrugs off the rest of the discussion. Once I finish I explain Sasuke how to place it and where. "Are you sure you want this? I'll never release you." He tells me with possessiveness burning in his eyes.

"There has yet to be made a seal that I can not break if l really want to do so. But l don't think I'll ever want to break this seal." I say with a confident voice while taking my shirt off and hitai-ate from my neck. Without any further doubt, Sasuke bites his thumb and activated the seal. A feeling like a shot of adrenalin runs through me, followed by my muscles tensing up and a cold shiver running down my spine. After it settles, Sasuke walks around me to see how it looks. 

There is a line running around my neck in a spiral three times. In the middle of my throat, interrupting the lines of the spiral, the Uchiha clan symbol is visible. A strand of symbols runs from above the Uchiha symbol to halfway down my chest. This part makes Sasuke able to locate me. Another strand of symbols runs from the back of my neck all the way down my spine ending just above my butt. At my lowest rib, two short strands of symbols stray away from the main strand. This one allows Sasuke to make me feel what he wants me to feel. The third and fourth strand runs from either side of my neck over my shoulders, immediately splitting up and running under my armpits in a loop. These restrict some movement, but are easily breakable, like Sasuke requested. The deep black markings are still softly glowing from being placed, the blue hue from Sasuke's chakra settling into my skin. A very faint red line runs underneath the black spiral, almost invisible for the naked eye. That it the lock thread that I synchronized to my chakra during the sealing.

Sasuke places two fingers against the Uchiha symbol. "Perfect." He says with a smile while looking into my eyes, making me doubt whether he is talking about the seal or about me. I smile back at him, closing my eyes and pull him close to snuggle into his chest.

The rest of the afternoon Sasuke just keeps staring at my neck, sometimes running his fingers over it or kissing it gently. I've put my shirt back on and left my hitai-ate off, not wanting to cover up the seal. Not that it would have completely, since I always have it around my neck quite loosely, but I don't want to cover the back of my neck now. I can see Sasuke is thinking about something, though. When I ask him about it, he shrugs it off and tells me he needs to go into town for something. He comes back with a white box. "So I was thinking, the seal is the best thing you could have ever given me, since it basically you giving yourself to me. So I want to give you something too. It's not as valuable, but I do hope you like it." He gives me the white box. Opening it, I find a red leather collar inside, a couple of centimeters wide. There are rectangular pieces of black leather set into the red leather. The black leather has an elegant pattern pressed into it which is highlighted with brass colouring. In the front is a belt made of the same red leather, half as wide as the collar. The buckle is brass and has the same detail as the black leather and there is a brass ring underneath the buckle hanging down. The inside of the collar is lined with soft red silk. _This... is... gorgeous!_ _My Kami, how my man knows me well!_ Kurama laughs in the back of my mind.

I look up at Sasuke anticipating face and look back down again and let my face break into a smile. "Thank you, I love this!" I pick the collar up out of the box and run my fingers over it. The leather is so supple and the silk is so very soft. Together with the red leather gloves Sasuke got me before and the red silk on my sword, I'm beginning to look like a well put together set.

Sasuke grabs the collar and puts around my neck. He runs a finger underneath it to make sure it's not too tight before he places his hand on my cheek and leans in for a kiss. "It looks good." He whispers to me.

"Why though? I thought you wouldn't want to cover up the seal." I place a hand on the collar and let my fingers run over the detail in the brass buckle, still with a smile on my face.

"I don't, but if we go out on a mission, I don't want a seal capable of restricting you to be in plain sight. And with the villagers the way they are towards you, I don't want them to see it either." I give Sasuke another smile.

"Overprotective, aren't you?" I ask as I grab hold of the front of his shirt and pull myself into his chest. Sasuke chuckles as he puts his arms around me and kisses the top of my head. "Only of my most precious possession."


	20. Mission start

The next day we gather at the gates to start our search for the source of the Hateful chakra. "Alright, Naru-chan, which way do we go?" Kaka-nii asks me. I close my eyes and let Kurama take over partially. Kurama pushes chakra through the seal and I channel it into the environment, waiting for Nature to give it's answer. When I open my eyes again, my red slithed eyes make Sakura and Kaka-nii take a step back. Sasuke seems unmoved by my change. I blink a few times to get used to the enhanced sight I have now. "It'll take some time to locate the source. Let's keep moving untill then. We can adjust course as we go." I say in a demonic sounding voice laced with Kurama's chakra. Kaka-nii nods and sets out. We follow in silence. Every now and then, Kurama and I sense the Hateful chakra flaring up, causing me to make a flinch-like motion as Kurama would suddenly push more or completely stop pushing chakra through me. Every time that happens, we've had to adjust the course we were headed, because the source seems to move fast and change direction at random. Kurama's chakra is slowly but surely seeping out of me, changing the way I look a little bit before I push back what is too much so that I don't change as much as during the Chuunin exams and to prevent the Chakra cloak from forming. The constant tug of war between Kurama and me to maintain the balance between our chakra is slowly eating away at my stamina, leaving me way more exhausted then I should be at the end of the day when we set up camp. Kurama pulls back his chakra, leaving me feeling weary and empty. I'm not chakra drained but physically exhausted.

Sitting at the camp fire, Sasuke gives me a bowl of the stew he made. I take it and eat it without comment, earning a curious look from Kaka-nii. Sasuke catches the look before looking down at his food and eating. "We still have the same agreement that we made at Tazuna's." He says without looking up.

"Right, I almost forgot about that one. It's still weird to see Naru-chan so cooperative, though." Kaka-nii muses. The rest of the meal is filled with small talk which I mostly ignore because I am truly not interested in anything they have to say right now due to the exhaustion. Somehow I seem to catch the short answers Sasuke gives, but without the context of the rest of the conversation, the already short answers mean little to me. _Still, it's nice to hear Sasuke's voice._ **You really have gone soft, you know. For the Uchiha at least.** Kurama says gently in the back of my mind, like he is afraid to startle me back into the cold person I was not too long ago. I shrug in response and let out a yawn. Kaka-nii looks at me in surprise again for showing a weakness such as tiredness. Sasuke places his hand on my neck like someone would place a hand on somebody else's shoulder, his fingers wrapping around my throat and with a soft pressure as encouragement I lay down with my head in Sasuke's lap. Sasuke's hand snakes around my neck a bit further as he starts playing with the ring of the collar, drawing Kaka-nii's and Sakura's attention to it. "What's with the collar?" Kaka-nii asks. I give a short growl in response to get Kaka-nii to back off, getting a chuckle from Sasuke. "I gave that to him. I thought it matched his gloves and sword. Besides, it looks good."

"It looks like it's more than just a piece to look good." Kaka-nii says while looking at my neck with more care. "What the..." Kaka-nii quickly gets up and has my shirt pulled back at the neck before either Sasuke or I can respond. The black lines from the seal that are on my shoulder are clearly visible. "What is this? How did you get this?" Kaka-nii asks me with worry and a bit of anger in his voice. I feel irritation bubble up in me. _Why does he care? He left me, he shouldn't care!_ "If someone put a seal on you, you should have told me, so we could have removed it before the mission!" Kaka-nii says to me in an berating tone. I sit up and drop myself back into my cold attitude towards Kaka-nii. "Do you really think there would be a seal on me that I would not be able to get rid of if I wanted to or needed to?" I spit at Kaka-nii while looking him directly in the face. Taken aback a bit by my strong response, Kaka-nii steps back to get a little more space between us, letting go of my shirt. "Well, no but, that seal is a restricting seal. I've seen those before. They can be controlled by anyone who can get close enough to put a little chakra into it. It's..." He sounds a little apologetic, but I don't care! He shouldn't meddle with me.

"Unless it's part of another seal that only allows the one that placed it to interact with it, by integrating the catalyst into a more powerful starter seal. Also, this restriction seal has the reinforcements taken out, so it will break the moment a different chakra that the chakra of the one to place it is poured into it." I say to Kaka-nii with the slightest irritation audible in my voice. I don't know why, but Kaka-nii worrying over me manages to get me angry so easily. He should not be meddling in my life. He is the one that left. _Why does he suddenly think he can just step back into my life, pretending nothing happened and fussing over me again_.

Before I can continue my little rant, Sasuke places his hand in my neck in the same way he did before. "Hush." He says with his face leaning towards my ear, before he gives me a small kiss on the cheek. I immediately snap my jaws shut and look down a bit and take a calming breath, understanding Sasuke's intention to get me to calm down. The small bit of irritation I showed towards Kaka-nii was enough for Sasuke to catch onto my quickly dropping mood and the fact that he notices is almost enough to calm me down completely.

Kaka-nii looks at us like something really bad just happened. He looks at us wide eyed, but doesn't say anything. Sasuke turns to Kaka-nii. "If there was anything wrong, I would have come to you already. I have done that before when I had concerns. Naruto drew the seal himself. I was the one to place it. As soon as either of us would want that seal to be gone, it will be gone. It wouldn't even take half a second for either of us to do so." Sasuke explains calmly. "The seal is more like a promise to stay with each other then anything else, really." Sasuke adds wrapping his arms further around me so he is hugging me from behind, earning a loud squeel from Sakura who had been silently watching the conversation up untill now as she goes into full fan girl mode. Kaka-nii looks incredulously between us, gaping like a fish on land.

"And you are both happy with this?" Kaka-nii asks, looking more at me than at Sasuke. I nod without looking up as I let out another yawn. Sasuke nods as well. Kaka-nii glares at Sasuke like Sasuke is manipulating my answer somehow. Sasuke looks unperturbed underneath Kaka-nii's gaze. Breaking his gaze on Sasuke, Kaka-nii turns to look at me.

"Really? Naru-chan, really?" Kaka-nii repeats himself to get me to look up at him. Lifting my head, I see Kaka-nii staring intensely at me when I look up. With a straight face I tell him the absolute truth. "Yes." We keep staring at each other for a while before Kaka-nii is the first break the gaze.

"I'm just worried about you, Naru-chan. I just need to know that you are happy." He says closing his eyes and looking tired.

"Well, don't be. Outside of this team and after this mission, I will have nothing to do with you anymore. I will not allow myself to get attached to you once again only for you to leave me again." I sneer at Kaka-nii.

"Leave you? Again..?" Kaka-nii looks genuinely surprised at what I just said. "I never left you. I left the ANBU. I would have never stopped contact with you if you hadn't avoided us and made it impossible for us to contact you!"

I shake my head in disbelief, but still give Kaka-nii a cold glare. "I heard you. That night when you both left me. You told the commander you didn't know how to handle me anymore and that you needed time away from it all. I was in the room with you. I know you never realised I was there. I had already build up a habit of eaves dropping by that time to see how people really think about me and it served my well enough that night. The commander also confirmed my conclusion during a debriefing for the next mission I got."

"It wasn't meant like that. We were talking about handling you as an ANBU. What we wanted was to handle you as a child, to give you a chance to be a child. Iruka and I planned on moving into an apartment big enough for the three of us and have you drop out of the ANBU with us, but we never got a chance to explain it to you. The commander made sure of that." Kaka-nii kneels down in front of me while still looking at me, sympathy in his eye and making gentle gestures to emphasize what he is saying as if not to scare me with sudden or strong movements. The last part was spoken with spite towards the commander. I feel tears stinging in the back of my eyes, but I don't allow it to show on my face that I still have in a cold glare. After all this time, would there really have been a chance for me to have lived with some sort of family, only for it to be taken away by the commander and my own conclusions? "We wanted to take you out of the ANBU and enroll you into the academy, give you a somewhat normal childhood. The commander didn't want to let you go. Instead, he sent you on a two month mission so we couldn't talk with you about it. Apparently, with what you heard and probably what the commander told you, the mission was also long enough to make you resent us enough to completely avoid us, so we never got a chance to explain. I am sorry, Naru-chan, I really am. We should have been more persistent with you. I should have been more persistent. I am sorry." Kaka-nii's voice is full of the emotions he is trying to express through his words, his head slightly bowed down in an apology. **Kit, I think he is telling you the truth. We did leave the meeting in a rush after the first couple of minutes. This might very well be the truth. The commander has lied to us before to get us to do what he wanted.** **Kakashi** **has not been dishonest with us before.** I take a deep breath to try and keep my composure. With the truthful and heartfelt words from Kaka-nii and the logic from Kurama I don't really know how to respond. Not trusting my voice, I give a small nod in acknowledgement of Kaka-nii's words before turning away from him and the conversation and into Sasuke's awaiting arms. I hide my face in his chest trying to digest this revelation as I allow Sasuke to slowly hush me into a light sleep. I really don't know what to think right now. So many lonely years and it could have been at least a bit easier if I had not let myself jump to conclusions or believed a man that has used and abused me.

_I am sorry..._

The next morning I am awake quite early to find everybody except Kaka-nii asleep. Kaka-nii is sitting off to the side of the camp keeping watch. I'm still next to Sasuke who has his arms tightly around me. Without waking him up, I manage to get up and make my way over to Kaka-nii. I sit down next to him and wrap my arms around my legs and just start talking. "I never understood why the caretakers of the orphanage ignored me. I never understood why he picked me up in that alleyway just to do that to me. I never understood why the villagers would hurt me. I never understood why the commander would..." I swallow to get rid of the lump in my throat as tears fill my eyes. **It's okay, kit, I'm here.** Kurama wraps his tails around me. "Is there something about me that makes people do that to me?" I look sideways at Kaka-nii as a tear makes its way down my cheek. Kaka-nii it sitting completely still like he is afraid to scare me away, before he makes up his mind and puts an arm around my shoulder, pulling me against him sideways. At first I completely tense up at his touch before a memory passes through my mind of Kaka-nii comforting me when I was 5 and I relax into his embrace. Kaka-nii responds to me relaxing my body by slowly rubbing his hand over my arm. I decide to continue with what I wanted to say. "People have always told me I need to pay for what I did or got, even if it was something I didn't want to begin with. Mister took my blood for money, that man took my trust for retribution, the village took my pain for revenge, the commander took my body for pleasure." Kaka-nii grip around me tightens. "Everybody I met always wanted to take something from me. I guess that's why it was easy for me to believe that you and Iru-nii didn't want me around anymore. I seemed to have nothing you wanted. The commander sorta confirmed that." Kaka-nii moves to put his other arm around me as well, pulling my further into a hug against his chest.

"We just wanted you to be happy..." Kaka-nii says in a shaky voice as he is struggling to keep tears back. I look up to his face to see an mixture of sadness and happiness. Sadness because I just told him that I suffered futher, even within the ANBU and at the hands of the commander no less and happy that I'm talking to him and allowing him close to me. I take a deep breath before pushing myself away from Kaka-nii so I can look him in the eye.

"Sasuke is different. He is sweet and gentle and he cares for me as I am. He loves to love me and all he wants in return is for me to be happy. And with him I am. I trust him beyond anything and I don't know why, I just know that I do. So please trust me when I say that I am happy with Sasuke and the way our relationship is developing. And thank you for caring enough about me to be worried and angry for me, Kaka-nii." I look down and blink fast to get the unshed tears out of my eyes. Kaka-nii placed one of his hands in my neck and pulls me to his chest again, wrapping his other arm around me in a hug.

"Naru-chan..." Kaka-nii whispers pressing a kiss on the top of my head before placing his cheek on top of my head, rubbing his hands on my back in a comforting motion. I answer his gesture by wrapping my hands around his waist in a hug as well. We just stay like that for a while before there is movement in the camp from the others waking up. Getting up, I excuse myself and make my way to the edge of a nearby river. I sit down and stare at myself in the moving water for a short while to settle my thoughts before going back to camp and helping with getting packed.

The day is a repeat of yesterday as Kurama and I pinpoint the source and we move to get closer. This drags on for four more days as we get closer and closer to our target. Being so close to the source of the Hateful chakra is making Kurama restless and by extention me as well, making me unable to sleep. Even Sasuke's calming whispers don't help me get rid of the foreboding feeling that is filling Kurama and me and combined with the physical exhaustion I feel on edge and tense.

The sixth night we set up camp next to a big lake. Seeing as I can't sleep anyways, we decided that I will keep watch this night, allowing the others to sleep the whole night. About an hour before dawn I go to wake up Kaka-nii. "Let me meditate for an hour. I'll need it today. We are close enough to find the source today."

"Have you been searching all night?" Kaka-nii asks with worry in his voice. Instead of the worry making me angry like before, it makes me feel slightly happy now that I know it's actually genuine.

"Not all night, just a couple of times to make sure it isn't getting too close." I look down a bit, unable to take Kaka-nii's worried stare any longer. Suddenly, he pulls me into a hug for a quick moment.

"Go, and be safe." He tells me before he turns and walks away to find a good place to keep watch. I walk to the edge of the lake and find a large flat rock to sit on. I close my eyes, letting the world around me become everything and nothing. I sense everything, but do nothing with it. I find my place in this moment and accept the part that I am in the world around me. I let everything around me move, from the ants in the grass to the birds in the sky and just follow their movement for as long as they are within my senses, linking no real emotion to them, but still feeling a bond with everything. I feel the energy of everything around me pushing and pulling between each other, but don't allow myself to take anything of what is offered. For the hour that feels like only a second while every second could have been an hour, I just am and I let everything around be.

When I open my eyes again, I blink a couple of times, letting reality settle back in again. I feel a soft pressure agains my back that puts a smile on my face. Sasuke is sitting behind me leaning against my back. I give him a small push with my back, making him look around at me.

"Hey." I say dryly.

"Hey." I get back before a bowl of food is pushed into my hands. My stomach makes a churn it hasn't done in a while. I guess it has something to do with the lack of sleep taking away my appetite. Maybe the feeling of tiredness is reminding me too much of back then. I quickly eat it anyways, earning a smile from Sasuke which makes it worth the wave the nausea. "Thanks."

Sasuke smiles again. "You're welcome, dobe." He puts his hand in my neck and pulls me into a kiss. Soft licks at my lips makes me open my mouth for him, allowing him to deepen the kiss. His fingers slide into my hair while his other hand lands on my hip. I pull up my hands to my chest, leaning into Sasuke with my full weight, letting him engulf me in the hug. The hand in my hair drops down to wrap around my shoulders as support. After Sasuke breaks the kiss, I lay my head on his lap. "Just let me lie here for a while..." I tell Sasuke as a wave of sleepiness finally washes over me. I'm asleep so fast I can't even make out what Sasuke's answer is, though I did just manage to catch that he said something.

When I wake up a couple of hours later, it's to soft whispers around me. Kaka-nii and Sakura have joined us. I'm laying on my back and look up to see that the sun is not quite at it's highest yet. Sasuke looks down at me when he feels me move with a soft smile and I give a smile back.

The smile quickly drops from my face and I jolt upright, staring fixated at a point across the lake. Kurama is writhing within me, frustration and hatred slowly building up in him and slowly seeping into me. He is completely blocking me out, making it impossible for me to talk to him and not allowing me to hear anything from him. I try to supress the feeling as much as I can, but it is so much stronger than it has been the last few days. Without really realising it, I drop myself into a crouched position, ready to bolt at any moment. Unable to fight the force with which Kurama is forcing chakra through me, a chakra cloak with one tail is forming around me, slowly bubbling and pushing me into an animalistic mindset. With a low growl, I launch myself towards the point I have been staring at across the lake. Every time I touch the water, it leaves the water boiling for a second before it settles back down. In a couple of seconds I'm at the other side of the lake, growling and sneering at a man completely covered in a white cloak. He stands across from me, unmoved and unperturbed.

A couple of seconds later, the rest catches up with me. Sasuke is immediately in front of me, looking at me and ignoring the man. "Naruto, focus." I shift my gaze to his face, letting him block out the image of the man before me. "It's me, focus on me, come on." I feel a relaxing sensation run down my spine as Sasuke presses some of his chakra through my seal. Sasuke places his hand on my cheek. Taking a deep breath and with renewed strength, I manage to push Kurama's chakra back enough to break the cloak, though I still have the red slithed eyes and streaks of red running through my hair. "Good boy." Sasuke tells me. I look up to see Kaka-nii and Sakura stand in a defensive position between the hooded figure and Sasuke and me.

"Who are you?" Kaka-nii asks the man still standing still a small distance away from us. Dispite the hood it's very clear the man is looking directly at me. I stare back at him in much the same way, unmoved and distustful.

"Kuroishi Yuuri." The man says in a calm voice. Too calm for the situation. As he speaks, there is a flare of Hateful chakra that engulves the little clearing we are standing in. It is strong enough for Sakura to grasp her throat and struggle for breath. Kurama pushes against the seal again, still not allowing me near him. Yuuri moves his hand up to push back the hood, revealing a scarred face, brown hair and green eyes. "And you..." He continues while pointing at me. "You are the source of everything that goes wrong in this world." Sasuke steps in front of me again, this time facing the man, taking on a defensive stance like Kaka-nii and Sakura.

"Tell me something I don't know." I throw back at him in a dangerously cold voice, eyes flickering between cold blue and burning red as Kurama is becoming more irratic within me. I clutch my head at the quick changes, but keep myself focussed on Yuuri. "But I want to hear what you will add to the list of wrong things I am."

The man stands in silence for a while before slowly tilting his head. "You are the last spawn of the clan that destroys everything. You are a Namikaze."


	21. Hate

The man in white is met with three confused looks, some better hidden then others, but still obvious that none of the three saw that answer coming, and a cold stare from me. Not that I'm not surprised at the fact that I am blamed for something that has nothing to do with Kurama, but I don't show it due to years of practice in hiding emotions.

Namikaze is a well respected name in Konoha and most of the other villages, even before my father was named Hokage. I could understand that some of the rivalling villages would call out the Namikaze name with resentment, maybe disgust, but to call it the source of everything wrong in this world is... unexpected. To then push that blame onto me while I've never even met another Namikaze is even more confusing. "What do you mean?" I ask with a cold voice.

"The clan of Namikaze has done nothing but hunt and destroy anything beloning to the Kuroishi clan, leaving us in a destroyed land with broken memories. We would rebuild, only for the Namikaze to return again and destroy it all again. I left my family in search of power. I found it in the purest form of Hatred. I reveled in it, gaining strenght beyond imagination for the small price of everything else. When I returned to my home, everything was gone. I found out later I had been gone for almost a hundred years. I started searching, only to find that no one survived and to make it worse, the Namikaze clan had all but disappeared as well. Refusing to let go of my revenge, I hunted down the remaining Namizake clan members. You are the last one. I will destroy you!" Despite beginning in the same calm tone as before, Yuuri ends up screaming the last part in anger. The area around us seems to drop in temperature and darken as Yuuri focusses the Hateful chakra into the environment. In response, Kurama forces so much chakra through me I go into a four-tailed beast mode almost instantaneously. My scream of pain is quickly followed by a humanly impossible roar of anger from Kurama.

Kurama forces himself in control of my body, leaving me in the back of my own mind looking at what is happening without any control. _Kurama!_ No response. Kurama is too focussed on Yuuri. I look at the glass-like sheet that is displaying the happenings outside my mind to see the others jump back as Kurama jumps towards Yuuri at an incredible speed, launching his clawed fist at Yuuri. Yuuri evades it like the speed is nothing and continues to evade and block every punch and kick Kurama throws at him.

Looking at Yuuri and the way he moves, I see dark shadows dance behind him, mimicing his movement with a slight delay. It looks a lot like the way Kurama's chakra cloak can hit and damage a person after the initial physical blow has passed. But instead of the vibrant, hot red chakra of Kurama, the shadows around Yuuri are black, cold and lifeless.

_Kurama,_ _please_ _!_ _Answer_ _me!_ In response to my outcry, I see Kurama's form in my mind, pinned down by dark shadows and more angry than I have ever seen him as he fights the restraints. I slowly walk towards him, while I keep an eye on the screen to see Kurama launch yet another attack at Yuuri. Yuuri meets the attack with the same force, sending them both flying backwards and away from each other. The impact it hard enough to even shake my mindscape, making me kneel down to regain at least a little balance. Kurama swings his tails around wildly, hitting me back almost as much as he was hit back. As soon as I am able to, I make my way back to Kurama, avoiding the angry flailing tails untill I manage to reach his face. I place my hands on his cheek, causing him to flinch. _Kurama, it's me. What's happening to you?_ Kurama let's out a low and angry growl that is echoed by the Kurama ouside of my mindscape. **Do you know the saying: '** **Hatred** **will** **consume** **you'?** Anger laced in his voice and these words are also echoed by Kurama outside of my mindscape. I nod making sure he can see me. **This is what it looks like to have** **Harted** **consume** **you. It** **pins** **down and** **destroys** **part of** **your** **mind,** **your** **sanity** **, bit by bit.** Kurama let's out an annoyed huff. _Looks_ _like it bit of more than it can_ _chew_ _with you, though._ Kurama let's out a small chuckle before another shadow pins itself through Kurama's body, making him scream and writhe in agony.

Looking back at the glass-like sheet, I see Yuuri looking intensely at us. He must have heard half our conversation since Kurama was also speaking out loud. Anger is on his face before turning into realization. "Who are you?" He asks, narrowing his eyes.

"Kyuubi no Kitsune." Kurama growls back, before launching at Yuuri yet again, giving Yuuri no time to process the information that was just given to him. Catching Yuuri slightly off guard, Kurama manages to slice through his chest, ripping his shirt apart to reveal more scars hidden underneath the clothing. Kurama's chakra that is following his clawed hand strikes through the black shadows surrounding Yuuri, dragging a piece away from him. The shadow falls to the ground, writhing and letting out a loud hiss before it seems to evaporate into nothing. Yuuri let's out a frustrated yell and his green eyes turn dull for a moment. A shadow that has been pinning down Kurama disappears at the same moment the shadow outside disappears. _We need to_ _kill_ _all the_ _shadows_ _! Kurama, do you hear me?_ _Focus_ _on_ _destroying_ _the_ _shadows_ _with_ _your_ _chakra!_ A low growl is the only response I get.

Lashing out once again, Kurama slowly but steadily manages to rip the shadows away from Yuuri. Yuuri, however doesn't seem to be weakened by it, just more passive in showing his emotions. Every time a shadow is removed, Kurama seems to be coming back to his normal self but he keeps control over my body just the same.

After kicking back Kurama yet again, Yuuri looks up at us with dull eyes. "I do not wish to fight this fake anymore. It might be the Namikaze boy's body, but he is not the one fighting right now. Bring him out!" He says in a dull voice. It's like there are no other emotions withing Yuuri besides hatred. _Let_ _me_ _fight_ _him, Kurama. You have done enough_. I lean against Kurama's soft fur and he wraps a tail around me. **I** **guess** **I'll** **need to give you back** **control** **.** **Just** **give me a** **moment** **longer** **.** Kurama's voice sounds a lot calmer and I notice that he is speaking in my mind only. I nod into the fur.

With a final roar Kurama launches himself at Yuuri again. The impact of his fist into Yuuri's chest fills the air with the sound of snapping bones as Yuuri is blown back by the force. He crashes into the ground and doesn't move. Kurama is standing with the last of the shadows in his chakra enforced claw, slowly squizing it tighter and tighter until it rips in two and disappears like the rest of the shadows. In my mindscape Kurama is finally completely freed from the shadows as well. He stretches himself before looking at me and releasing control back to me.

The first thing I realise is that every hit that Yuuri has made against my body has left at least a significant bruise, but also many broken bones. _Kurama, you_ _fuck_ _, my_ _body_ _is completely_ _broken_ _!_ _Next_ _time, at least try to_ _dodge_ _a few_ _hits_ _!_ **Well, that** **sounded** **weirdly** **familiar** **, doesn't it? Though I'm** **pretty** **sure I was the one to tell you that before...** _Shut_ _up,_ _stupid_ _fox_ _._ Kurama rolls his eyes at me and pushes chakra through me and I feel my bones snapping back into place and my wounds heal faster then usual. _Slow_ _down,_ _overgrown_ _cat_ _,_ _Yuuri_ _might be down, but he_ _isn't_ _out._ _Keep_ _some chakra in_ _reserve_ _!_ **Yeah** **,** **yeah** **,** **it'll** **be** **fine** **. P** **robably.**

Yuuri gets up looking unscathed, no trace of any injuries. His eyes fall on me to find pretty much the same staring back at him as all my injuries have disappeared as well. "Blue eyes. Good, you finally decided to show yourself. Then let me do the same." Yuuri unseals a sword from a seal on his wrist as the last layer of shadows pull themselves into Yuuri through his mouth. His eyes widen and he seems to scream in pain as the shadows enter him, but there is no sound. "I carry pure Hatred in me." He says after the last of the shadows dissapear. "It is what the Namizake clan has forced upon our clan. It cannot be defeated, so neither can I. But I will fight you without it's power if you do the same." I give a small nod in response knowing he means Kurama as I also unsheath my sword.

Standing oposite from each other we both seem to wait for a sign to begin the fight. Tension is building around us as we start an invisible battle of Killer intent. The air is potent with the desire to take each other down, making it impossible for anything to come close to us. The sky seems to agree with us as dark clouds gather above us quickly. Without warning, lightning strikes between us, triggering us both into a high speed Kenjutstu battle. The clashing of our swords is the only sound in the clearing besides the occational outburst from the heavens above us. With a particularly heavy hit from me and an strong block from Yuuri, we are both sent backwards only for lightning to hit the spot we were just standing on. I can see an evil plan forming in Yuuri's eyes in the quick moment his face is lit up by the lightning. For a split second his attention shifts from me to something behind me, but I don't allow myself to follow his gaze knowing that taking my eyes of him will result in injury for me.

With the next bolt of lightning, Yuuri launches himself at me. I move to block him, but instead of striking at me, he dives underneath my block to resume his path behind me. I turn around to see what is behind me to see Kaka-nii, Sakura and Sasuke. My eyes widen in realisation that he will harm someone from _my_ team. I rush after him and manage to block his strike at Kaka-nii and Sakura. "They will be left out of this." I tell him in a cold voice and with an emotionless stare, before I launch myself at him once again and push him away from the team. A smirk appears on his face, but dissapears at the next lightning strike. Yuuri begins to cover his blade in black chakra that makes the metal of the sword sing. The sword slowly starts to glow red as the fibration of the black chakra slowly heats up the blade. He places the tip of the blade on the ground slightly behind him as he drops himself into a stance. In response I drop myself into the low stance I learned from Kurama. When the ground around Yuuri's sword catches fire in black flames, he starts running at me slower then before, but clearly with more power.

I meet him head on, but the power behind the hit is way more then I expected and I am thrown aside barely able to maintain my balance. Yuuri however keeps his momentum like I wasn't even in the way, heading straight for Sasuke. The moment I realise he is after Sasuke, my heart rate doubles in speed and with a burst of adrenaline, I am in between Sasuke and Yuuri in the same time it takes for the next bolt of lightning to strike.

Ingoring the burning blade that was thrust towards Sasuke embedding itself into my side, I shoot a quick look at Sasuke to make sure the backlash of the sword doesn't catch him as well. Relieve shows on my face when I see that Sasuke is unharmed at the same time as the smell of my own burned flesh reached my nose. Immediately, Kurama pushes chakra into the wound to make sure I don't bleed out and starts a minimum amount of healing. I can feel my tissue growing together again, but to reserve chakra he leaves it at that. "That is the first emotion you have shown. You must care deeply for that boy. Good to know." An evil voice sneers at me before Yuuri jumps back a large distance. Producing the black flames around the sword seems to have taken its toll. Yuuri is breathing heavily and his hand is looking charred.

I feel a hand land on my side and look back to see Sakura inspecting the burned cut and healing it as much as she can. "I'm fine." I tell her curdly, ignoring the fiddling in my side further. Kaka-nii lands beside me.

"We need to work together on this one, Naru-chan. I can follow him with the Sharingan. I'm sure Sasuke can too. Though I doubt either of us can actually keep up with him, but we might be able to get a hit into him with Chidori if you can force him our way." Another bolt of lightning strikes, seeming to split the sky in two as it is followed by a heavy downpour of rain.

"Keep to the sides and only engage when the opportunity presents itself. I'll keep focussing just on speed and try to push along the edge of the clearing, so be ready for that. I'll try to keep him near the edge." Sasuke and Kaka-nii give a nod before disappearing from sight, hiding their presence untill the opportune moment.

"Sakura, you make sure you are not caught up in the fighting. If either of them are injured, you make sure your top priority is to keep them alive. Their lives are above mine. Do you understand?" I tell her in a cold voice with my eyes fixated on Yuuri who seems to have caught his breath. A soft, shaky voiced "Yes." tells me Sakura heard me and although she doesn't agree, she will comply.

I launch at Yuuri, sword dragging behind me. As I near Yuuri, I jump up and bring my sword down, forcing him to jump aside and towards the edge of the clearing. For ten minutes it's a game of cat and mouse between us as I push him along the edge of the clearing and he pushes me back. With each stroke he makes towards me, I learn his pattern of attack better and better, slowly finding openings I did not see before. I throw him an evil smirk like I know something he doesn't, throwing his movement into a second of doubt, which I take full advantage of. I run at him a full speed, grabbing my sword with two hands and thrusting it forward and through Yuuri's chest. With a dull thud the tip of my sword embeds itself into a large tree, followed by the crunching sound of a skull cracking on the hard wood. Blood washes away quickly with the rain water and a pool of red water starts to grow at Yuuri's feet. I let go of my sword and jump back as blue light moves in fast from both sides. Yuuri's eyes widen still focussed on me, my face adorned with an evil smirk lit up in a blue hue as I move away from him. Both Chidori hit him at the same time. The water that has formed around him lighting up agressively. In the blinding light I see two figures jumping away from the destruction they placed upon the area.

Smoke and vapor are clouding the sight, but both get washed down quickly by the pouring rain. Yuuri is still standing pierced against the charred tree with both his hands clushing my sword. The arm Sasuke hit looks badly damaged, lightning shaped burns moving away from the initial impact site but the fingers of the arm are still twitching, indicating there is still life in the arm. The other Chidori had landed in his stomach, the same lightning shaped burns moving way from that wound. Dispite the mangled wounds, Yuuri is still awake and still glaring at me with intense hate. Slowly, he pulls out the sword, throwing it aside. He stumbles forward a couple of steps.

"If I cannot win, I'll at least make sure I'll take your happiness away, like your clan did to me!" Yuuri says in a cold voice, looking at me with hate filled eyes. "Katon: Kokushibyō (Fire release: Black Death)." A dark black liquid-like fire starts to engulf Yuuri's injured arm as he focusses his chakra into his hand. The liquid fire drips off his arm and when it hits the ground, it hisses and burns leaving the ground scorched and black. The area around him starts to hum in a low, threatening tone that intensifies as the strenght of the chakra increases. His hand and arm blister before they start to turn black, as if his own jutsu is burning and killing the parts it's touching. With a sudden burst of speed he launches himself at Sasuke. Sasuke makes another Chidori in response and starts running towards Yuuri. Right then, the world seems to slow down to a crawl for me. Every fiber of my being knows that everything touched by this black fire jutsu will die, including the caster.

I run at full speed to get in between Yuuri and Sasuke again. All I can think about is to make sure it does not touch Sasuke. I push as much chakra as I dare take from Kurama and me without killing us into a Rasengan. Avoiding Juuri's descending arm, I duck low before pushing my arm up towards Juuri's chest. The Rasengan cut through the soft flesh of his abdomen and I keep pushing my hand up untill it's deep in his chest where his heart is. I push the last chakra I have into it, going beyond my limits, expanding the Rasengan as it is inside his chest, ripping him to shreds from the inside out. At the same time I see his arm come down on my shoulder, sweeping through me like I am nothing as the black fire cuts through me. Pain like nothing before cuts through me as I burn. I let out a scream I cannot hear and I hear a pained scream close behind me. I feel all the strenght leave my body. An arm catches me but I feel like I'm falling straight through it, leaving everything behind. And then...

Then...

Nothing...

Darkness...

Emptiness...

I try to move, but I can't. I try to blink, but I can't. I try to take a breath, but I can't. I feel panic rising up in me for a short moment only to realise I don't need to breath. There is nothing. I am nothing, like everything around me is nothing. Everything has always been nothing, because nothing is a part of everything. I just found the place where all of nothing is, that's all. That's fine. I can be nothing. Nothing has problems here. Nothing is wrong here. Does that mean that where there is nothing, everything is fine or is nothing itself the problem? I don't want to think about that. When I am nothing, I don't need to think about anything and I don't want to think about anything, I just need to think of nothing.

I let myself be in the nothingness for a moment. Is it a moment? It might as well have been an eternity, but there really is no difference, is there? If it is a moment, then it felt like an eternity. If it is an eternity, then it felt like a moment. I don't really know which is better and I don't want to think about is. So, I think about nothing. Another eternal moment passes as I think about nothing, slowly loosing focus on everything.

I blink my eyes as I try to focus again. Weird, I thought I couldn't blink... Wait, of course I can blink, right? Because I am not nothing. If I was nothing, then I wouldn't be able to think. But I am thinking even though it is about nothing, so I must be something. I know I'm not everything, because I now know I am not nothing. Since everything and nothing are the same thing, I am not everything just like I am not nothing. Then I must be something. Then, if I am something, I must be somewhere. The place where nothing is, right? But I am here, and I am something, so this place is no longer the place where nothing is. Has it ever been the place where nothing is, though? I've always been here, so there was never nothing. I close my eyes for an eternal moment.

I sit up. Am I sitting on something? It's soft. It's not the something I am. It's something different. I look down, but see nothing. So it's nothing, but it is soft and therefore it's something? Then the something I am sitting on is nothing and everything? That can't be right. I am something but not nothing or everything, so another something can't be nothing or everything either. Maybe it's not that I see nothing, but rather that I can't see something. There needs to be another something to be able to see. I close my eyes for an eternal moment.

When I open them again, I look down again. I see me. Arms, legs, chest, skin that is beautiful and flawless exept for a thin line of symbols on my shoulders and down my neck. I'm sitting on a sheet of light so thin that I can see nothing through it. It ripples underneath me as I move. So the something I am is me and the something I'm sitting on is light. I'm glad that I am me, even within nothing. I am glad that nothing now also has light. I stand up. Light ripples underneath my feet, moving away from me in endlessly growing circles. I look down at myself again. I'm naked. That's alright. It's not cold and it's not warm. It's nothing. And I'm alone, so it's okay.

I see light hit another something in the distance, the ripples coming back to me to show me where to go. I walk over the light towards the something. With every step I get closer, the ripples come back faster and closer together. I stop a step away from the something, light glowing intensely between us. It's an orange fox, curled up with many tails around it. I want to call out to the fox, but there needs to be another something first. I close my eyes again for an eternal moment.

Breathing in I open my eyes again. "Kurama..?" I say softly. The fox stirs, lifting his head. **Naruto** **...** He answers wagging his tails happily. I scoop him up in a hug, happy to have found Kurama in nothing.

**Have** **you** **realised** **where** **we are?** Kurama's tails fall still and his tone of voice is serious.

"I don't really know. I know we are somewhere and that somewhere is not the place where nothing is, because there is me, light, sound and you, but for the rest there is nothing." I sit down and put Kurama down in front of me. "Do you know?"

**Yes** **,** **kit** **, I do.** Kurama lets out a heavy sigh. **I've been** **here** **before, but I never** **stay** **long** **. I** **always** **go back. After all, I am chakra and chakra** **cannot** **die. It just** **reincarnates** **.** My eyes widen when I realise what Kurama is trying to say. **I'm** **sorry** **,** **kit** **, you are** **dead** **. We are in between** **life** **and** **death** **, at a** **point** **where** **you need to make the** **choice** **I will never have.** "You mean I can choose to go back?" **Yes** **and no. You can go back, but not as who you were. You** **would** **be** **reincarnated**. **You probably won't remember anything.** I nod feeling defeated. I finally made some progress with my life in becoming happy and working out issues from the past and now I don't have the chance to actually enjoy it. Life is cruel indeed. Or maybe I should say death has a cruel timing? It's not like I never gave death a chance to come for me sooner. So why now?

"Are the others alright? Kaka-nii, Sakura... Sasuke, are they alright?"

**I** **cannot** **tell you.**

"If I go back, will I see them again?"

**I am** **sorry** **,** **kit** **. I** **cannot** **tell you anything that will** **affect** **your** **decision** **. I also** **cannot** **stay** **very** **long** **. I am** **being** **pulled** **back as we** **speak** **.** Kurama smiles at me before he slowly fades from sight. I don't even have the strenght to call him back. Taking another deep breath I realise that I am alone. I sit down with my arms around my legs and cry onto my knees.

_Alone_

_What do I do now?_

_What can I do now?_

_What do I want to do now?_

_Go back and try again or move on to whatever is next?_


	22. After death

A small blond fox is running through Konoha, followed by a black fox and an orange fox. The blond fix looks to be only a kit, quickly running through the crowd, scaring people out of the way with yelps and growls. Like the blond fox knows where he is going, he navigates through the village without issues, running straight towards a field on the edge of the village. At the edge of the field the blond fox stops dead in its tracts. He looks around, sniffing the air as the other two foxes catch up to it. 

The field is filled with stones, carefully carved into monuments to those whom have died. Some stones are bigger than others, but they all have one thing in common. A name written on it to indicate whom has been laid to rest there. All stones but one. All stones are neatly placed next to each other with well maintained gardens and arranged flowers on them. All stones but one. 

The stone that is the exception is placed under a beautiful Sakura tree. It's a stone without a name and without any indication of who this grave belongs to. There was only one word on it and it looked crudely carved over the years, slowly egded into the stone with a kunai, 'beloved'. There are no arranged flowers or a garden on this grave, but it is the most beautiful one in the graveyard as it looks natural in the landscape around it, the stone inlayed with golden streaks. A man in black clothing is leaning against the tree with his eyes closed and a sad look on his face. The blond fox makes an excited jump at seeing the man before resuming his path towards him. At full speed, the fox jumps into the man's arms, knocking the air out of the man. "Teme!" The little blond fox cries out. The man looks down in utter confusion at the fox. Looking more closely at the fox, he notices black markings around its throat leading down its back and chest and around its front paws. It only takes a second before Sasuke's fill with tears in realisation and he hugs the fox close to him.

The black and orange foxes reach the pair and sit down in front of them. Sasuke looks up. "Ferrin! And... "

"Shoki." The orange fox answers. Sasuke nods.

"Is... Is this really Naruto?" Sasuke asks with a shaky voice as new tears stinging in his eyes. Both foxes nod and Naruto snuggles closer to Sasuke. Sasuke responds by hugging the little fox again. "I missed you so much." Sasuke whispers to the blond fox, which in response snuggles even closer into Sasuke's arms...

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed, please give Kudo's! I'd also love to know what you think, so please leave a comment!


End file.
